Chapter 173 Shadow Cabinet

"Congratulations, David, for joining the shadow cabinet. This is really a joy."

"Thank you for your congratulations, Your Highness,"

Barron meets Cameron once or twice almost every month. This meeting was mainly to congratulate him on joining the shadow cabinet and becoming the head of the Privy Council of the shadow cabinet.

The so-called "shadow cabinet" was first proposed in 1907 by the then Conservative leader Austin Chamberlain. Such a system was later implemented in many Commonwealth countries.

It refers to the formation of a "preparatory cabinet" by the leader of the largest opposition party according to the structure of the cabinet to prepare for the formation of a cabinet after they overthrow the current ruling party.

It is precisely because of this purpose that members of the shadow cabinet often fiercely confront the current cabinet in order to achieve the purpose of "replacing" it.

And often when the opposition party comes to power, its cabinet members are basically members of the "shadow cabinet". At most, there are only slight adjustments, and there will not be big changes.

Therefore, after entering the "shadow cabinet", for Cameron, it can be regarded as a great progress in his career.

It is worth mentioning that the Camerons also joined the Mars fund investment, of course, in the name of Mrs. Cameron.

As a private equity fund, Mars Fund has a relatively high threshold. From the very beginning, the minimum investment amount has been 1 million pounds.

Don’t worry that Cameron and the others won’t be able to come up with the money. You must know that both Cameron and his wife came from aristocrats. Cameron’s great-grandfather, Sir Ewan Cameron, once worked at the London Head Office of HSBC Bank. Chief Supervisor; His grandfather went to Chicago to do grain trading business and made a fortune. He left the United States and returned to Scotland in 1880.

And when Cameron was young, it was not like he had never been ridiculous...

With the financial resources of the couple, it is not difficult to invest 1 million pounds.

And they themselves were among the first to invest in Mars funds. Now, their investment of 1 million pounds is worth more than 5 million pounds.

Barron certainly knows that the strongest alliance must have common interests, and the Mars Fund itself is the link that maintains his relationship with certain partners.

It has been more than a year since Barron came to this world.

His influence at this time was naturally not the same as before the same year.

His status, coupled with the resources at his disposal, is no longer something that can be ignored in England.

It is also because of this that Cameron, who is quite ambitious in politics, pays more and more attention to his "friendship" with him.

"I want to congratulate you too, Your Highness the Duke. I often go shopping in Argos, but I didn't expect that it now belongs to you."

Cameron said with some admiration.

Yes, after DS Capital raised its bid for Argos to £700 million, the chain's owner Home Retail Group held a shareholder meeting in early June and voted overwhelmingly to approve the sale. Argos proposal.

In this way, Barron's acquired this chain retailer with more than 400 stores in the UK and Ireland.

The reason why Barron decided to acquire Argos the most was Argos’ unique sales method.

Argos store operations are completely different from traditional stores. There are no products displayed in the store lobby, and all products are stored in the warehouse behind the store or upstairs.

Consumers can browse the shopping catalog displayed in the store to choose products. This information is readily available in all stores, and customers can also take it home and slowly select it.

All products sold have detailed descriptions in these written materials, and are accompanied by product codes and color pictures for easy inquiry and comparison. We must provide consumers with the most authentic and complete information.

According to statistics, about 2/3 of households in the UK currently have an Argos catalog, which focuses on household consumption as a unit and has an aggregation effect on product categories. Every spring and autumn, Argos will launch new shopping-oriented catalogs according to the situation, and launch them from time to time. Promotional product catalog.

Another important reason why Argos can attract customers is that its product range is very complete, covering high, medium and low-end price ranges. Regardless of men, women, old or young, everyone can find products they are satisfied with here. Except for selling food, it sells almost all kinds of products, with a total of 17,000 varieties and specifications.

Especially in the sales of toys, small appliances and home electronics, as well as furniture, gold and silver jewelry and sports and leisure products, Argos's sales performance is considered to be unmatched by other sellers.

And there are many ways to place an order at Argos. You can go to the store to buy, or you can place an order through mobile text messages and 24-hour phone calls.

Does this sales method sound familiar to you?

Yes, this sales method is very similar to the B2C and O2O local services of those later e-commerce companies.

Therefore, after purchasing Argos, the first change Barron made was to develop and launch Argos’ online website, allowing consumers to view goods in real time and place orders on the Argos website in addition to ordering by phone. They can also get their own home goods in a timely manner. The latest discounts from nearby Argos stores.

In addition, what Shangbalun is more concerned about is Argos' logistics and warehousing system.

Argos has 1 DC (Distribution Center) and 4 RDC (Regional Distribution Center), which are mainly responsible for the distribution of Argos stores in England and Wales.

There are also 2 transshipment points, one in the Republic of Ireland and the other in Scotland, responsible for Argos store delivery in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland respectively.

This "three-dimensional" logistics network structure is a necessary resource for Argos to develop O2O services in the future.

Next, Argos will continue to improve the logistics and warehousing system, and, like the Duke's Select Supermarket, will provide home delivery services for busy customers who have no time to spare. Of course, this additional service will require a certain fee.

The biggest move after the acquisition of Argos is the huge private brand construction project.

In order to prevent price wars between different merchants of similar products, Argos focuses on its own brand products.

By adopting a strict supplier evaluation system, we select agents or product manufacturers for goods, requiring them to produce and package goods according to market demand. The assessment indicators include specifications, styles, colors, shapes, packaging, etc., and use the Argos trademark.

As a result, many of the products sold by Argos cannot be purchased exactly the same outside, making it difficult for customers to make direct price comparisons.

This approach achieves three purposes simultaneously.

First, because suppliers can produce and design products according to Argos requirements, they can provide a variety of styles to meet market demand and set prices that satisfy customers.

Second, because Argos has set up this long-term development strategy with its suppliers, their cooperative relationship has become closer. While Argos has become the largest retailer, it has also increased the market share of these suppliers' goods.

Third, it is this strategic relationship that enables suppliers to fully ensure that the products they supply are price competitive and to ensure Argos’ gross profit margin.

Argos' 2002 annual report shows that 59.3% of Argos' value is created by these free-brand goods.

After that, Barron will form a full-category inspection team in Argos company, go to China to conduct OEM inspections, and select suitable partners who can produce products that meet their quality requirements, so as to transfer their supplies. The chain began to shift to China.

The advantage of doing this is that it can significantly reduce the cost of the product, lower the overall selling price, make Argos' products more competitive, and even increase their profits...