Vol 4 Chapter 313: Ugly board
Located in the town of Bentonville in northwestern Arkansas, it is a small place with a population of just over 20,000. It is definitely not found on the maps published in the country. In the United States, except for the map published by Arkansas, most other maps are the same. Can't find it either.
But the so-called mountains are not high, there are immortals, the name is not deep, the water is not deep, there is a dragon, this small place, because of a company, in the minds of many large international companies, it is very famous, and it is also a lot of retailers and contractors. , A place where salesmen must go.
This company is the largest company in the United States last year, with Wal-Mart with sales of 217.8 billion U.S. dollars in FY01.
Bentonville is the headquarters of Wal-Mart.
Of course, according to the founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, this place is Wal-Mart’s "hometown office", because this old gentleman always feels that the term "headquarters" sounds too artificial.
Wal-Mart’s setting up of its headquarters in such an unknown town later received many interpretations from various “experts” in China. The mainstream opinions all said that this is the embodiment of Wal-Mart’s “thriftiness”. Speaking earnestly and earnestly, some domestic corporate headquarters, how to be so undesirable, that is not good.
Those words of them are actually quite nonsense.
The reason why Wal-Mart has set up its headquarters in this small town is actually a compelling choice. It is a successful commercial application of the strategy of "rural surrounding cities".
Sam Walton, who had little strength at the time, founded the first Wal-Mart here, because such a small place has no competitors. Until the 1980s, almost all Wal-Mart stores were opened with a population of several thousand. In a small town of around 25,000, and achieved great success.
Although Wal-Mart did not require it, as its business throughout the world is growing faster and faster, more and more companies have set up their own offices in Wal-Mart in order to serve Wal-Mart, a major customer, from the source.
For example, the daily necessities giant Procter & Gamble has set up an office with as many as 300 people here to serve Wal-Mart.
Today, the total number of suppliers that have opened offices here is close to 1,000. Bentonville is full of offices with warehouses. The offices set up by suppliers from all over the world give the town a prosperous scene.
According to Wal-Mart’s “thrifty” nature, Hastings, who arrived at noon and set foot here for the first time, naturally did not enjoy the airport pick-up treatment. In order for the afternoon meeting to go smoothly, after a short break in the hotel, he came back that year. Visited the first Wal-Mart store, which is now the Wal-Mart Museum.
He was inspired by the experience along the way. His original dream was to build Netflix into such an internationally influential company, but the irony is that he came to such a place this time. , To talk about, say something nice, it is cooperation, say something bad, it is the willingness of the other party to acquire their own company.
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At four and five in the afternoon, Hastings is in a room about ten square meters in size. It has a prison-like window. You have to crane your neck to see the sun. (It is said that this is only a welfare for a few lucky executives I saw Gary in his office.
When Hastings was waiting just now, he really realized how busy this place is, so there was no nonsense, and he directly stated the purpose of the trip, "Gary, we all know that your company intends to make achievements in the field of DVD online rental. Your advantage is your solid strength and complete domestic sales network. Netflix is the founding company of this model and is currently the leading company in this field."
"To be honest, because of your company's involvement, we have to invest a lot of resources to deal with it recently. It should be said that some of our strategies are quite successful. You know, at least in this field, your company has achieved Achievements are still limited,"
Gary nodded non-committal.
Wal-Mart is a company that values technology very much. For this reason, in 1987, it established the largest private satellite system in the United States. Naturally, they would not let the Internet, the information superhighway, be overlooked.
However, as the independent director of Netflix who works at the university said, the DVD rental business is indeed incidental to their sales process. Of course, the proposal of this idea was indeed affected by Netflix. In short , They don’t invest much in this area.
It can also be understood that this is a kind of trial and error.
Having said that, without receiving a response, Hastings was a little unnatural. He adjusted his sitting posture. "These days, after thinking about this question, I discovered that the advantages of your company and Netflix are actually complementary. , I immediately felt that our confrontation like this is a waste of both companies, so Gary, I am here this time to seek cooperation."
"Hastings, did NEXTDOOR file 13G or 13D with the SEC?" Gary suddenly asked another question.
"So far, they have not provided the relevant forms to the SEC." Hastings became a little embarrassed. It turned out that Gary already knew his intentions.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations on the acquisition of listed companies, as in China, you must make an announcement when you hold 5% or more of the equity in a listed company.
However, if you do not intend to obtain control of the company, just fill out a simple 13G form. When you have the intention to obtain control of the target company, in order to let the market understand your intentions, you must submit a 13D form.
However, unlike China, the "Williams Act" has relatively loose regulations on the time of disclosure, requiring shareholders to fill out the 13d form within 10 calendar days, and there is no requirement to stop trading the stock during this period.
It has only been a few days since NEXTDOOR purchased a 7.23% stake in Netflix.
"So, in fact, Hastings, you don't know how many of your shares NEXTDOOR holds?" Gary continued to ask.
"This...," Hastings really didn't know, but he knew that NEXTDOOR would definitely not stop.
"I'm clear, I believe you will also notice that this is a very promising field, and it is also a field where your company already has a certain foundation,"
"I also know that with my support, coupled with your company's strength and influence, our intention of cooperation is easy to achieve,"
"I'm more clear. If NEXTDOOR gains control, then your company will have no chance in this field."
Gary finally smiled, "As long as we decide to enter the field, we are not afraid of any opponents,"
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"Exxon, everyone, this is Mr. Yiping Feng, the chairman of NEXTDOOR," Randolph took Feng Yiping to a rest area and introduced several people there.
In Silicon Valley, under Randolph's arrangement, Feng Yiping "ran into" 7 Netflix directors, including Exxon, in a club.
"You don't need to introduce Feng, we all know each other," the seven people stepped forward to shake hands with Feng Yiping.
"What you don't know is that Feng Duo not only has a very clear understanding of Netflix, but also has a very good plan for Netflix's development. More importantly, he has done a lot of fruitful results for Netflix's future. Preparations,"
"This is what we want to hear, Feng, can you give us a general introduction?" Exxon said.
"Hastings and Randolph are indeed very insightful, but from the perspective of bystanders, I think they are too chasing to lead in a certain industry~www.wuxiaspot.com~ although Feng Yiping did not clearly explain Own direction, but after hearing what he said, Exxon said with emotion, "Where is Hastings? He should really come and listen."
Feng Yiping glanced at Randolph. In fact, Hastings knew something similar.
"Since Feng has such a willingness, I think it is necessary for our two families to have some contact and communication. I will inform Hastings." An independent director took out his mobile phone. After a while, he looked surprised. Said, "Hastings is not in the company, and his secretary does not know where he is going,"
"Let me ask," Randolph immediately walked to the side to call. After a while, he walked over with a sullen expression, "I found it, he took the morning flight to Benton County, Arkansas."
"Benton, why do I feel familiar?" Exxon said.
"The headquarters of Wal-Mart is in Benton," said the expert who has studied Wal-Mart.
At this time, Randolph was not the only one who looked ugly. "We just passed the resolution. Does he treat the board of directors as a decoration?" Exxon angered.
