Chapter 2427: Building a Luxury Brand

Zhou Andong slowly sent the barbecued meat from his dipping sauce bowl into his mouth, chewing while muttering indistinctly: "I am currently the factory director of the Woolen Mill, you should have heard of it, right?"

"Heard of it, heard of it!" Qiao Kuan nodded vigorously, but there was some confusion in his eyes. Could it be that he wants me to sell wool blankets or woolen coats? If it were five or six years ago, he could have been excited enough to jump off the roof of a five-story building.

But now, letting him go sell wool blankets and woolen coats for the Woolen Mill, he felt desperate. If he really agreed, it wouldn't take two years before he would really jump off the roof of a five-story building.

Zhou Andong looked at the expression on Qiao Kuan's face, knowing that this guy should have guessed a little, and he still had some cleverness: "You should have guessed a little, right? However, the Woolen Mill is undergoing a major reform, and we are going to build our own clothing brand."

Speaking of this, Zhou Andong slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, then picked up a napkin and gently wiped the corners of his mouth: "The brand I'm talking about building isn't that kind of ordinary mass-market brand. It's a luxury brand like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Dior."

If someone else said this, Qiao Kuan would listen seriously, but wouldn't believe a word of it. Building a luxury brand like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Dior? You damn well brag if you want to brag, don't treat me like a fool.

But this was said by Zhou Andong, and he believed it firmly. After all, Zhou Andong's "battle record" was right there before his eyes. Not to mention Yugong Liquor, nor Jiang Xiaobai, just talking about Iced Black Tea and Very Cola, they really beat Coca-Cola and Pepsi until their heads were covered in bumps.

Thinking of this, Qiao Kuan's expression became a bit excited: "Chairman Zhou, are you letting me buy shares? Just like how you cooperated with Zhang Hua and Liu Zongmin and the others to manufacture cars?"

Zhou Andong was very surprised; this kid has quite an ambition: "You want to buy shares?"

"Ah!" Qiao Kuan nodded vigorously: "Want to, very much want to!"

Zhou Andong smiled faintly: "Originally, I intended to give the national agency rights to you, but since you have the idea of buying shares, that's not impossible. However, I am curious, how much capital do you have on hand!"

Qiao Kuan hesitated slightly, seemingly answering with some lack of confidence: "Um... probably about four million."

Zhou Andong glanced at Qiao Kuan and said slowly: "Do you know how much money the Jiangzhou Textile Mill spent to acquire 10% of the Woolen Mill's shares?"

Qiao Kuan shook his head: "How would I know that."

Zhou Andong said while eating: "The valuation of the Woolen Mill is 2.35 billion, and for 10% of the shares, the Jiangzhou Textile Mill spent 260 million, a premium of 25 million. You calculate it yourself, with just your four million, how many shares can you get!"

Qiao Kuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, like a deflated ball, his whole person became listless, saying listlessly: "I... I thought you would set up a new company, that's why I thought about cooperating with you..."

"Even if a new company were to be set up, four million in capital isn't much. Even if I personally agreed, the other leaders of the Woolen Mill definitely wouldn't accept it. If it were 40 million, perhaps there would be something to discuss."

Saying this, Zhou Andong shook his head: "Even if you wanted to get the national general agency, these four million wouldn't even be enough for the agency fee."

Hearing Zhou Andong's words, Qiao Kuan's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief: "Four million? This isn't even enough for the agency fee?"

Zhou Andong glanced at Qiao Kuan again: "Brother, national general agency, do you understand what that means?"

Qiao Kuan was rendered speechless by Zhou Andong's attitude. He looked at Zhou Andong and said helplessly: "Chairman Zhou, do I look like a fool to you?"

Zhou Andong continued eating his food without even lifting his head, just saying faintly: "Zhang Zuo calls you Qiao the Big Fool!"

"..."

The black lines on Qiao Kuan's face increased by several more instantly. If someone else said this, he would have flipped out long ago, but since it was said by Zhou Andong, he really had no temper at all.

"Chairman Zhou, can we chat properly?"

Zhou Andong slowly lifted his head. Seeing Qiao Kuan's dark face, he couldn't help but laugh: "The Woolen Mill reform is going to establish a contract-based joint-stock company. Simply put, under the framework of the contract-based joint-stock system, the enterprise will sign a legally binding agreement with employees, just like the Jiangzhou Winery now."

Speaking of this, Zhou Andong paused slightly, then continued: "If you insist on getting involved, I can give you an idea. With your family's background and energy, it shouldn't be difficult to get you into the Woolen Mill as a section chief. By then, you can logically use these four million to subscribe for shares.

However, you must think clearly, this is a contract-based joint-stock company. That is to say, you can subscribe for shares, but you only have dividend rights, not decision-making power. Moreover, these shares cannot be sold privately.

Even if the Woolen Mill has the opportunity to go public in the future, if you want to sell your shares, you can only sell them back to the factory. Of course, when the factory repurchases the shares, it must also do so at the market price."

Qiao Kuan's eyes brightened; he was truly tempted and began to calculate in his mind. Primarily, he had a near-blind trust in Zhou Andong, firmly believing that whatever Zhou Andong wanted to do, he would certainly succeed.

Therefore, the more he thought about it, the more feasible he felt this method was, and he couldn't help but excitedly say: "This method is indeed excellent!"

After saying this, the guy asked another question: "If I want to be the national general agent, what exactly is the agency fee?"

"It's hard to say for now." Zhou Andong's tone was very light and breezy: "But one thing is certain: it will be at least five million."

"How much?" Qiao Kuan's eyes widened abruptly, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. His fair face, which had already been teased by Zhang Zuo, turned beet red from surprise: "A single agency fee is five million?"

Zhou Andong continued in a light and breezy tone: "Five million is just the agency fee. You must understand that being a national general agent isn't just a matter of paying the fee and being done with it. Our brand side will be responsible for promotion and marketing, but you, the agent, are responsible for developing the channels. Without twenty million in capital, you simply cannot be this general agent."

Hearing this, Qiao Kuan's throat made a gulping sound. Only then did he realize that he had previously thought of the matter too simply.

Qiao Kuan fell silent for a moment and asked: "Chairman Zhou, do you think it's more appropriate for me to subscribe for shares or to be a general agent?"

"Does that even need asking?" Zhou Andong smiled: "If you want to make big money, of course, you should be a general agent."

Qiao Kuan pondered for a while, and after a moment, he slowly said: "I need to go back and think about this matter carefully."

"Sure!" Zhou Andong nodded slightly: "Once you've decided, you can come directly to the Woolen Mill to find me. However, you must hurry, because if everything goes smoothly, the reform will officially start by the beginning of next month at the latest."

"Okay!" Qiao Kuan agreed, then greeted Tang Bei and the other girls before turning to leave.

Watching Qiao Kuan's departing back, Tang Bei couldn't help but ask softly: "Is he also a second-generation?"

Zhou Andong picked up his chopsticks, dipped a slice of meat into the sauce bowl, and said with a smile: "How about it? He's still single, and you're also single. Do you want me to play matchmaker for you two?"

Tang Bei shook her head quickly and refused with a smile: "Forget it. A pretty boy like him doesn't suit me."

Zhou Andong asked curiously: "Aren't you girls all obsessed with looks?"

"Obsessed with looks?" Tang Bei was stunned for a moment, pondered the meaning, and then laughed along. She turned to look at the other girls and teased: "I think only little girls like An Qin and An Wen would care only about faces."

Zhou Anqin was the first to express her opposition, saying with great disdain: "What's so good about a pretty boy? I'm not that shallow."

Zou Hui quickly chimed in: "That's right, I don't like pretty boys either. They look so soft and weak, with no masculinity at all. If something really happened, I wouldn't know if he would protect me or if I would have to protect him!"

"But!" Mu Yun's eyes sparkled with little stars, and she said in a daze: "He's really so handsome! If I could marry him, even if he did nothing, just sitting in front of me every day, I could eat an extra bowl of rice!"

Hearing Mu Yun's words, everyone laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became exceptionally lively. The girls' topic remained centered on the pretty boy; if Qiao Kuan heard this, one really wouldn't know if he should be happy or cry.