Chapter 381 Wanglaoji Herbal Tea, 30-year lease
There are so many categories of beverages that if you try to cover all of them, you will probably end up biting off more than you can chew.
Therefore, among so many categories, Deng Shirong must have made choices, or given priority to certain things, and put the other less important ones at the back. If he can take care of them later, he can do them, otherwise forget about it.
After all, there are so many tracks, and it may not be a good thing to participate in every one of them.
Among the many categories of beverages, mineral water is a must-have. This is a product that has maintained extremely stable sales until later generations. Zong Lao and Mou Zhong, who sell mineral water, have become the richest man in China more than once. You can imagine how awesome this category is.
There is also the milk category, which is also at a giant level. Now, both Yili and Mengniu have not been established yet. If they want to get involved in dairy products, the timing is still very appropriate.
However, making dairy products is more complicated than other things, and it requires the cooperation of the ranch.
If you want to grow and develop dairy products, you must go to places with vast grasslands such as Inner Mongolia or XJ. You can see this from the past lives of Yili and Mengniu, both of which were located in Inner Mongolia.
Therefore, although dairy products have great potential for development, Deng Shirong decided to put it aside for now and decide whether to continue with it later.
Then there are functional drinks. The peak sales volume of the giant Red Bull was in the tens of billions, and this stuff is so damn profitable. The product was sold for 6 yuan a can when it was launched in China in the late 1990s, and it is still sold for 6 yuan a can in later generations. The price has not changed in more than 20 years.
You can imagine how profitable Red Bull was in the early days.
Of course, all the investments in the early stage of development were real money, and the development of Red Bull was not all smooth sailing. In the early stage, the price of Red Bull was indeed expensive. At the same time, Coca-Cola carbonated soda was only 2 yuan per bottle, and the retail price of 6 yuan made it difficult for many consumers to accept it.
In addition, domestic consumers at that time did not have the habit or scenarios to consume functional drinks, so the China Red Bull project faced the risk of huge losses in its first year on the market.
In short, it took Red Bull in its previous life ten long years to develop the market, and finally its sales volume soared steadily, and it once occupied 80% of the market share of functional drinks.
Even if Deng Shirong enters the functional beverage market now, the formula will be difficult enough. There is no functional beverage formula in China, so he needs to go abroad. At this time, the domestic supervision and review procedures for imported food are strict, especially for caffeinated beverages, which not only require expert review, but also approval from multiple relevant departments.
In its previous life, Thai Red Bull adjusted the formula of its beverage. The adjusted formula not only met the requirements of regulatory authorities, but also retained the efficacy of functional drinks to the greatest extent, while being more suitable for the taste of the Chinese people.
These are not things that can be solved with just a simple sentence. I don’t know how much time it will take to do it. It will also take a huge amount of time to cultivate the market and then develop functional beverages step by step. The manpower and material resources spent during this period will probably be far beyond imagination.
So, although he knew that the functional beverage market was quite promising, Deng Shirong eventually chose to give up, or to give up temporarily. Instead of spending so much energy on it now, it would be better to let Red Bull develop the market first. It would not be too late to reap the fruits after Red Bull has cultivated the market to maturity.
Then there is tea beverages, which are also at the giant level. Whether it is iced black tea or herbal tea, the sales volume during the peak period is in the tens of billions.
Let’s talk about iced black tea first. In the past, an adjective called “migrant workers’ drink” appeared on the Internet.
The origin of this adjective is that this type of beverage, which costs 3 or 4 yuan a bottle, can be found everywhere on construction sites.
The workers work outdoors and their body moisture evaporates quickly, so they need to replenish their energy in time. Almost everyone of them has a bottle of large and affordable drink, and they take a few sips when they are thirsty or hungry.
Among these beverages, Master Kong Ice Black Tea has the highest sales volume.
Especially the one that costs 4 yuan per liter, which can not only relieve heat and thirst but also replenish sugar and water, and soon became the "life-saving tea" for the workers.
Therefore, this iced tea is worth trying.
Let’s talk about Wanglaoji Herbal Tea, which is an old brand with a history of 160 years. When The Voice of China was popular in the past, Wanglaoji, which won the naming rights, also reached the peak. At that time, its annual sales volume was as high as more than 20 billion, making it the true king of herbal tea.
Unfortunately, the boss who made Wanglaoji famous only got the trademark authorization of Wanglaoji. When the authorization period was up, everything was gone.
In fact, when the authorization time was about to arrive, the big boss was a little panicked. He was unwilling to give up everything he had worked hard for, so he resorted to the dishonorable means of bribery to renew the authorization agreement.
At the beginning, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical did not take it seriously. After all, Wanglaoji was not yet popular at that time.
But later, when the annual sales volume exceeded 10 billion, the level of attention was different because the benefits were simply too great.
In the end, the truth was revealed. The person who accepted his bribe was sentenced to life imprisonment, while this big boss was released on bail due to insufficient evidence.
As a result, no one knew what this big boss was thinking, but he made a decision that stunned everyone.
He actually ran away while on bail! Yes, he actually ran away!
Originally, there was no way to convict him due to insufficient evidence. His escape would make him a fugitive from the crime, which completely confirmed the charge.
As a result, this tycoon set a record and became the only wanted fugitive on the Forbes rich list.
Among the many beverage categories, Deng Shirong tends to give priority to Wanglaoji.
There was no other reason. It was mainly because he was in Guangdong and Guangxi, so it was most appropriate for him to make herbal tea. Moreover, he was well aware of the potential of this herbal tea and also knew the advertising slogan that made Wanglaoji take off.
Therefore, Deng Shirong decided to first talk to the owner of Wanglaoji about the transfer of the formula to see how far the deal could go. If the result was ideal, he would start with Wanglaoji herbal tea, and if not, he would start with mineral water.
The reason why Deng Shirong was not in a hurry to develop mineral water was that he wanted to make a big move. Now Nongfu Spring has not been established yet, he just needs to develop this mineral water before the first bidding winner of CCTV appears. Then he can go to CCTV and win the first bidding winner. It will be easy for the mineral water brand he founded to become popular.
After all, Deng Shirong was very clear about the value of CCTV's first winning bid.
The CCTV bidding winner, coupled with those two extremely classic advertising slogans, is definitely a king bomb. There is absolutely no problem in becoming the mineral water king in one fell swoop.
Precisely because he has this trump card, Deng Shirong is not in a hurry at all. It doesn't matter whether the mineral water is produced two years earlier or later.
After thinking it through, Deng Shirong returned to the food company and held a high-level meeting.
Those attending the meeting included the food company's general manager Deng Changyu, deputy general manager Lin Zhongjun, financial manager Deng Changhua, marketing manager Li Guanghui, purchasing manager Deng Changqing, administrative manager Zhao Wanli, human resources manager Zhou Haiming, Master Kong instant noodle factory director Deng Changpei, and Deng Jiayue mooncake factory director Deng Changpei.
The four middle and senior leaders, Lin Zhongjun, Li Guanghui, Zhao Wanli and Zhou Haiming, are all top students recruited from outside.
As the food company grows bigger, it naturally needs more and more talent. It is definitely not enough to just rely on Deng's talents. More talents must be recruited from outside. Otherwise, if the management cannot keep up, no matter how awesome the strategy Deng Shirong comes up with is, it will be useless.
During the meeting, Deng Shirong did not rush to talk about Wang Laoji, but said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the development of Master Kong instant noodles is getting better and better, and Eight Treasure Porridge has also achieved a good start. The subsequent development has been planned, so I will not repeat it here.
This time I called everyone to this meeting to discuss two things. "
Deng Changyu asked: "Chairman, which two things?"
Although Deng Shirong was not in charge of specific affairs, he had always been in control of the general direction of the company's development. Before, the company was full of members of the Naye Deng clan, so it didn't matter whether he had a position in the company or not. Anyway, the clan members would listen to whatever he said.
But ever since the company started recruiting senior executives from outside, Deng Changyu and other company leaders unanimously requested Deng Shirong to take the position of chairman. This would also let those externally hired senior executives know who has the final say in the company.
Therefore, Deng Shirong is now the de facto chairman of the food company and the passenger transport company.
Deng Shirong said: "The first thing is to build a series of auxiliary factories such as carton factories, plastic factories, and outer packaging factories. Now our instant noodles, moon cakes, and eight-treasure porridge are all packaged in cooperation with others. Not to mention that a lot of profits are taken away by others, from a practical point of view, it is not as convenient to cooperate with others as to set up a factory of our own."
Deng Changyu nodded and said, "The chairman is right. Sometimes, it takes a lot of time just to coordinate this matter. If we build our own supporting factory, we can rest assured about the packaging in the future without worrying about any accidents."
Deng Changpei said: "Chairman, if we want to build these supporting factories, we should not only build them here in Bobai, but also build them in other cities with branch factories, so that we can achieve complete self-sufficiency."
“Since it is going to be built, all branches must be taken care of.”
Deng Shirong nodded, then looked at Lin Zhongjun and said, "Boss Lin, I'll let you take charge of this. Is that ok?"
Lin Zhongjun responded: "Chairman, I have no problem. I promise to complete the task."
Deng Shirong hummed and said, "The next thing is the second thing. For the company's next new product, I am interested in entering the herbal tea market. There is a herbal tea brand in Guangdong called Wang Laoji that has a 160-year history. Have you heard of it?"
Deng Changpei continued, "Chairman, I've heard of this. Wanglaoji herbal tea is quite famous in Guangdong."
Deng Shirong said: "I plan to go to the company where Wang Laoji works to discuss the transfer of the formula. This century-old brand is still very valuable. I don't know if they are willing to transfer it. If they are not willing to transfer it, I will try another way of cooperation.
If we can’t come to an agreement, forget it. If we can come to an agreement, then our food company’s next product will be Wanglaoji herbal tea.”
Deng Changyu asked: "Chairman, what should we prepare?"
“Just prepare the money.”
Deng Shirong looked at the financial manager and asked, "How much liquid funds do we have available in our company's account now?"
Deng Changhua smiled and said, "It's no problem to use 200 million."
Deng Shirong nodded. With such a large sum of money, he was somewhat confident in purchasing the herbal tea formula and the ownership of the Wanglaoji trademark.
In this day and age, I don’t believe that two hundred million won’t be enough to stun the other party.
Even if the other party is a state-owned enterprise, it is estimated that it will not ignore such a large sum of money.
Of course, if we really meet a leader with a long-term vision who is unwilling to sell the Wanglaoji trademark even at 200 million yuan, then the worst that can happen is that we can learn from the previous generation's Jiaduobao and adopt the method of renting it.
However, the trademark lease term cannot be just ten or eight years. It must be longer to avoid the same incident as the previous Jiaduobao incident happening to their company.
Thinking of the trademark dispute between Wanglaoji and Jiaduobao in the previous life, Deng Shirong thought of the important information of defensive trademarks.
A so-called defensive trademark refers to a trademark holder registering an identical or similar trademark in the category of the original registered trademark, or in a similar category or other unrelated categories.
Take Lao Gan Ma as an example. Similar trademarks such as Lao Gan Die, Lao Gan Ba, Lao Gan Niang, God Son, and God Daughter have all been registered by Lao Gan Ma. These are defensive trademarks.
The main purpose of this practice is to prevent others from using the same or similar trademarks in the same or similar categories, thereby protecting the brand from infringement and preventing counterfeiting.
After the successful registration of a defensive trademark, the company can obtain additional income through trademark pledge, trademark authorization, trademark transfer, trademark auction, etc., while also being able to defend against infringement attacks from others.
Our own companies should also learn this method and register these defensive trademarks in advance to avoid the emergence of counterfeit products like Master Kang's Braised Beef Noodles with exactly the same packaging and even the same pronunciation. That would be too disgusting.
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So, Deng Shirong gave orders and asked Deng Changyu to arrange someone to do this specifically.
…
The next day.
Deng Shirong then took the food company’s legal team and took a bus to Guangzhou again.
The food company's legal team was also newly established this year. As a reborn person, Deng Shirong is naturally very clear about the importance of establishing a legal team. Most of the well-known companies in his previous life had their own legal teams.
After arriving in Guangzhou, after some inquiries, Deng Shirong learned that the current owner of Wanglaoji is Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory.
After resting for a night in the hotel, Deng Shirong set off for Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory the next day to negotiate with them about purchasing the Wanglaoji formula and trademark.
Normally, Deng Shirong is a relatively low-key person, but when he is conducting business negotiations outside, he can't keep a low profile. He has to show his identity and let people know his importance so that he can get things done.
Otherwise, if you, an unknown guy, go to discuss cooperation with others, you may not even be able to meet the factory leaders.
Deng Shirong's approach was undoubtedly correct. After he revealed his identity, he was immediately invited to the factory director's office and met Director Zhang of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory.
After some pleasantries, both sides got down to business.
Deng Shirong asked, "Director Zhang, the ownership of the time-honored brand Wanglaoji Herbal Tea belongs to your factory, isn't that correct?"
Director Zhang nodded and said, "That's right, the ownership of Wanglaoji Herbal Tea belongs to our factory."
Deng Shirong didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Director Zhang, I want to ask, does your factory have any intention of transferring this Wanglaoji herbal tea?"
Director Zhang looked at Deng Shirong in surprise and asked, "Director Deng, your company wants to purchase our Wanglaoji herbal tea?"
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "That's what I meant. I wonder if your factory is willing to transfer it? The price is negotiable."
Director Zhang said, "Mr. Deng, I'm so sorry. I can't make the decision on this matter alone. I need to discuss it with other leaders in the factory and report to them. I can only give you an answer after they approve it."
After all, this is a state-owned enterprise, and the sale of assets is definitely not that easy. Deng Shirong knew this, so he smiled and said, "Director Zhang, please report to the leader and see if he is willing to sell Wanglaoji Herbal Tea. The price will satisfy the leader."
Director Zhang responded, "Okay, I'll discuss this with other factory leaders first, and then report to them once we have a unified mindset."
Deng Shirong said: "Then I'll have to trouble Director Zhang!"
Next, the two sides chatted for a few more words, Deng Shirong left his contact information, and then left Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory.
…
Three days later.
Deng Shirong appeared again in the director's office of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory.
After greeting each other, Director Zhang said with a look of regret: "Mr. Deng, I have discussed your intention to acquire Wanglaoji Herbal Tea with other leaders in the factory. Some support it and some oppose it. I have also reported it to the leaders above, and I am afraid that the leaders mean to disappoint Mr. Deng."
Deng Shirong had been mentally prepared for this. In this era, many state-owned enterprises have become a burden on the country due to years of losses. If the country wants to develop rapidly, it has to get rid of these heavy burdens one by one.
In the process, state-owned assets suffered heavy losses, allowing some people to enrich themselves lavishly.
The operating condition of Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory is still okay, so it is normal that the leaders are unwilling to sell it, because Wanglaoji Herbal Tea was originally changed from private to state-owned during a special period. If it is changed from state-owned to private again now, it will be really difficult to say.
In fact, Deng Shirong was not obsessed with buying it. If he really bought it, it would cost a lot of money. He was mainly afraid that if he made Wanglaoji Herbal Tea bigger and stronger in the future, people would say that he was embezzling state property like some people. He did not want to see such a reputation.
Therefore, after hearing what Director Zhang said, Deng Shirong did not force it, but immediately adjusted his strategy and said, "Director Zhang, since your factory is unwilling to sell, can we rent it?"
Director Zhang was surprised and asked, "Rent?"
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Yes, our company is paying a high rent, hoping to obtain the right to operate Wanglaoji Herbal Tea and the right to use the trademark."
This kind of cooperation was obviously a little unexpected to Director Zhang. He thought about it and asked, "Director Deng, how much is your company going to pay for the lease and how long is the lease term?"
Deng Shirong made an offer: "The lease term is 50 years. From the first to the fifth year, the annual rent is 1 million; from the sixth to the tenth year, the annual rent is 2 million; from the 11th to the 15th year, the annual rent is 3 million; from the 16th to the 20th year, the annual rent is 5 million; from the 21st to the 30th year, the annual rent is 10 million; from the 31st to the 40th year, the annual rent is 20 million; from the 41st to the 50th year, the annual rent is 30 million."
Although Director Zhang was very excited about the rent, he still shook his head and said, "Director Deng, this lease period is too long. The leader will not agree to it."
"Director Zhang, you have to rent it for at least 40 years."
Deng Shirong explained: "Although I am optimistic about the prospects of Wanglaoji herbal tea, it is just a prospect. I don't know how much time and money I need to invest to operate it before I can see a profit. If we only rent it for ten or eight years, our company probably won't even be able to make back the rent, which would be meaningless."
Director Zhang naturally understood this logic. For example, the Wanglaoji herbal tea in their pharmaceutical factory could not earn 1 million yuan a year. The rent given by the other party was not fixed, but increased with time. The rent was higher as time went by, which showed that they were very sincere.
Thinking of this, Director Zhang said, "Mr. Deng, I understand what you mean. It's still the old rules. You have to wait for me to discuss it with the leaders of the factory and report it to the leaders to see what the leaders mean before I can give you an accurate answer."
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll wait for good news from you, Director Zhang."
…
Obviously, both the leaders of the pharmaceutical factory and the leaders above were very interested in Deng Shirong's proposal.
This is equivalent to just sitting back and collecting money. No matter how Deng Shirong's business is doing, it will not affect the profits of the pharmaceutical factory. Moreover, when the lease period is up, the factory can be taken back and operated by itself. It is indeed a business that is sure to make a profit.
The only controversial issue is that the lease period is indeed a bit too long.
Then, the two sides began bargaining, and after more than a week, they finally came up with an agreement that both parties could accept.
There are two main contents in the agreement: one is the lease period and the other is the rent.
The lease term was changed from 40 years to 30 years, and the authorization period is from 1990 to 2020.
According to his age in his previous life, by 2020, Deng Shirong would have one foot in the coffin, so he didn't worry about the lease period anymore. Anyway, before 2020, Wanglaoji Herbal Tea could make a lot of money, so there was no need to be too greedy.
The rent has also increased slightly compared to before. The rent from the 1st to the 5th year remains unchanged at 1 million yuan per year; from the 6th to the 10th year, the annual rent is 3 million yuan; from the 11th to the 15th year, the annual rent is 5 million yuan; from the 16th to the 20th year, the annual rent is 10 million yuan; from the 21st to the 30th year, the annual rent is 20 million yuan.
Considering the sales volume of Wanglaoji Herbal Tea at its peak, Deng Shirong naturally did not care about the rent. After negotiating with the other party several times, he agreed to it.
At this point, the two sides happily reached an agreement.
(End of this chapter)