Chapter 151: Early Preparations for Winter
On the side of Aimeigao Company, the peak of orders had already passed, so there was no need to continue expanding production. Maintaining the current production scale was sufficient.
In fact, in just two more months, fan orders would enter the off-season, a period that would last four to five months.
It wouldn't be until next April that fan orders would start to pick up again.
Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, such days of massive profits wouldn't last long; next year would likely be the last wave.
By 1981, the fan market in North America would already be saturated.
A saturated market meant a significant drop in demand, which naturally would cause order volumes to plummet, and the money to be made would no longer be much.
In other words, the golden era for the North American fan market was just about two years. Despite that, Lin Haoran was already very satisfied.
As for the European market, Lin Haoran wasn't very sure, because in his previous life, the Da Liu he knew had only focused on the North American market.
However, in this world, due to Lin Haoran's influence, Aimeigao Company had also ventured into the European market and was doing quite well there too.
Of course, regardless of how the European market fared, Lin Haoran was already planning to lead Aimeigao Company to go public next autumn, and then find a successor to take over, making a hefty profit one last time before the market's final moment of glory.
Making just two or three hundred million Hong Kong dollars was not enough to satisfy him.
Of course, this was a plan for the future. Right now, Lin Haoran simply had this thought in advance.
The company had previously spent money to buy a piece of land in Kwun Tong, but construction hadn't started yet. Now that the land was secured, it could be built on at any time.
Currently, with so many orders, Liu Luanxiong couldn't handle too many things at once. He planned to wait until winter, when fan orders decreased and the company's activities slowed down, to begin construction of a completely new factory and headquarters for Aimeigao Company on the new land.
"Then it's settled!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Yes, I'll go talk to Director Lei about this in a bit. We'll leave a few million Hong Kong dollars as backup funds for the company, and distribute the remaining 130 million Hong Kong dollars. Unfortunately, there's still a payment of more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars that will only arrive in a few days. Otherwise, we could have distributed even more," Liu Luanxiong said somewhat regretfully.
After this round of dividends, both men would each have earned over 100 million Hong Kong dollars from Aimeigao Company.
This could be considered the result of Lin Haoran's influence.
Had he not intervened, Liu Luanxiong would have needed to wait until next year to make his first 100 million Hong Kong dollars.
Now, because Lin Haoran had expanded Aimeigao's production scale ahead of time and increased its order-taking capacity, and had even ventured into the European market, his speed of earning money had more than doubled.
Thus, although Lin Haoran was using Liu Luanxiong to make money, Liu Luanxiong was also benefiting greatly from Lin Haoran's help.
"By the way, Ah Xiong, our Aimeigao Company's main business currently is manufacturing fans, including ceiling fans and standing fans. In the summer, that's all we need to focus on. But in winter, fan orders sharply decrease.
Since we're renting three factory buildings and have so many employees, laying off most of them isn't ideal, and leaving the factories idle would waste resources.
So I suggest that when our orders start to decline in the fall, we consider manufacturing products urgently needed in Europe and North America during winter. Let me give you an example: electric blankets. They don't consume much electricity and are bound to be popular.
In addition, there are other popular products you could research. Find out what people need most during winter amid the ongoing oil crisis. We should prepare in advance so that when the season comes, we can mass-produce products to fill the gap left by declining fan orders.
In this way, we can not only retain skilled workers but also increase Aimeigao Company's profits, and naturally, we'll earn even more money," Lin Haoran explained an idea he had thought of earlier.
By winter, not to mention three industrial buildings, even just two floors of production space would be enough for the small number of off-season orders.
Products like electric blankets operated on a simple principle: using heating elements to warm the blanket and provide warmth.
The technical barrier for this kind of product was low, the manufacturing process was relatively simple, production costs were low, and even small workshops could produce them.
Electric blanket-related fires happened because unscrupulous manufacturers cut corners.
As long as Aimeigao avoided being a "black-hearted factory" and ensured good quality, the European and American markets were huge opportunities.
Moreover, Aimeigao now had numerous distributors in Europe and America. These distributors surely couldn't only sell fans; they would be good channels for new products too. Given the current strong cooperation, they would likely be happy to place new orders when the time came.
Of course, electric blankets were just one example. The exact products to be manufactured would depend on market research results.
"Haoran, your idea is brilliant! I had been worrying about what to do with the factories and all the employees after winter. Your suggestion solves both problems perfectly.
Starting next month, orders will definitely start to decline, and by November, it'll be even worse. Your idea comes at just the right time. I'll immediately get our European and American distributors to provide suggestions based on their local markets, and according to their feedback, I'll start preparing," Liu Luanxiong said, his eyes lighting up with excitement and fully agreeing with Lin Haoran's idea.
Currently, Aimeigao's production lines were simple, so even switching to other low-tech products wouldn't require major modifications.
After chatting briefly with Liu Luanxiong, Lin Haoran left, as Liu Luanxiong was very busy.
For him, this was the best time to make money, and wasting any time would be a loss.
The reason why Aimeigao's customer loyalty was so stable was because of its consistently high product quality, and Liu Luanxiong always placed strict control on quality.
Lin Haoran didn't stay at the company long either. After drinking some tea, he left Kwun Tong with Li Weiguo and Li Weidong.
That afternoon, after getting the bosses' signatures, Finance Director Lei Meihui transferred the money.
This time, the company distributed 130 million Hong Kong dollars in dividends, and Lin Haoran and Liu Luanxiong each received 65 million Hong Kong dollars.
The first time, they had split 40 million Hong Kong dollars; the second time, 65 million Hong Kong dollars.
Unknowingly, Lin Haoran's investment in Aimeigao Company had yielded him 105 million Hong Kong dollars in under a year.
And his initial investment had been only 1.2 million Hong Kong dollars — almost a hundredfold return!
It was pure profiteering!
Of course, he understood that the ceiling of this industry wasn't high.
It wasn't that investing 1 million meant you could make 100 million, so investing 100 million would bring you 10 billion — that was impossible.
Still, having received the 65 million Hong Kong dollars, his Huanyu Investment Company could operate smoothly for a while longer.
When the money eventually ran out, he'd figure out a way to raise more funds.
Lin Haoran roughly calculated: he now controlled about 18.86% of Hongkong Electric Holdings shares.
When Huanyu Investment Company spent all of this new 65 million Hong Kong dollars, based on a share price of 3 HKD per share, he could increase his holdings to over 22%.
Owning 22% of the shares was already quite substantial, but he definitely wasn't satisfied yet.
Hongkong Electric Holdings was a juicy piece of meat that could easily attract the attention of other big players.
Thus, the higher his shareholding percentage, the safer he would be.
Returning to Qingzhou Cement Company, Lin Haoran called Su Zhixue to inform him that the funds were topped up and that they could resume operations tomorrow.
After the call, he reviewed and approved two important project proposals in his office before taking them downstairs to the General Manager's office.
Burton wasn't in, so Lin Haoran simply placed the documents into a drawer in the general manager's office and quietly closed the door behind him.
Since Lin Haoran had supported Burton's diversified development plans, Burton had been extremely busy, often out doing research and fieldwork.
Passing by the finance department office, Lin Haoran noticed Huo Jianning engrossed in writing something and walked in.
The finance department wasn't small, and the finance director had a separate private office.
"Boss, you're here," Huo Jianning looked up upon hearing footsteps, surprised to see it was Lin Haoran.
"Jianning, you've been with the company for nearly three months now. How are you feeling?" Lin Haoran casually pulled up a chair, crossed his legs, and asked with a smile.
After joining Qingzhou Cement Company, Huo Jianning had passed General Manager Burton's probation period after one month and officially took over as Chief Financial Officer.
He had been in the role for over a month now.
"I feel great. Mr. Burton is very kind and willing to teach me. Not only have I learned to manage all affairs of the finance department, but I've also picked up valuable business management experience. My time here has been very fulfilling. Thank you very much for personally giving me this opportunity, Boss," Huo Jianning said respectfully.
Burton only mentored him so attentively because he was instructed to by Lin Haoran; otherwise, Burton wouldn't have been so accommodating.
"Good, that's how it should be. Work hard. Qingzhou Cement Company is just your current platform, mainly to help you learn and grow quickly. If I'm satisfied with your performance, you'll soon be transferred to an even bigger platform.
As for which company that will be, I'll keep it a secret for now. You'll find out in a few months," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
As for secretly acquiring Hongkong Electric Holdings, Lin Haoran hadn't told anyone.
Only he and a few traders from Huanyu Investment Company knew, and even they thought it was just a normal investment, not an acquisition plan.
Only Su Zhixue, his 100% loyal subordinate, knew the full picture.
"By the way, Boss, I've always been curious. You mentioned that a friend introduced you to me when you came to my house. I've been dying to know, who is this friend?" Huo Jianning asked, changing the topic.
This fictional "friend" obviously didn't exist, so Lin Haoran had no way to satisfy Huo Jianning's curiosity.
"I promised him I wouldn't tell, so I can't break my word. Don't make it hard for me," Lin Haoran said with a laugh.
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