Chapter 313 - 206: Accompanying President Chen on the Site Tour (2)

Chapter 313: Chapter 206: Accompanying President Chen on the Site Tour (2)

Peng Yu was now left with only ten stores. Seven of them were complete duds, and while the other three weren’t terrible, none were considered flagship properties in their respective areas.

The contrast over the past two months was staggering.

Two months ago, Peng Yu had lorded it over every brand he met. Now, he practically had to beg them for their business.

Collecting rent had become difficult, vacancies were soaring, and recruiting new brands or adjusting the tenant mix was harder than ever.

’How could a perfectly good regional company have ended up in such a state!’

Now, the corporate group was constantly pressuring him, demanding he resolve the region’s current situation by a strict deadline.

’It’s enough to make a man cry, but I don’t even have tears left. Wasn’t this whole mess caused by the group drinking poison to quench its thirst—selling off our core plazas?’

Peng Yu had been extremely resentful lately. Besides frequently venting his frustrations to CEO Wang Jun, he was also constantly contacting other business management companies through headhunting firms.

BEEP BEEP BEEP~

"Come in!" Peng Yu’s voice was clearly tinged with exhaustion.

Li Chun walked in. "President Peng, there’s news that Junxiao Group is negotiating more acquisitions in the three prefecture-level cities of Ning’an, Yu City, and Celestial Water."

Peng Yu shot up in his seat. His first reaction was, ’When the fuck is this going to end!’

His second reaction was to say aloud, "That’s great, Li Chun! Those three locations are all problem properties for us. Let them take them! At worst, we lose three more plazas and shrink a bit more, but the pressure on us will be much, much lower!"

Li Chun understood what he meant. If Junxiao Business Management were to acquire those three plazas, it would actually be solving a huge problem for them.

’But things are never that simple,’ Li Chun thought. ’Is Junxiao Business Management stupid? That Xu Jun is as sharp as a tack. I heard he used to work on missiles before getting into commercial real estate; his sensitivity to data is on another level.’

’Besides, he was with Wansheng Group for so many years; he knows exactly what shape each of our plazas is in. Why would he possibly buy those three? Unless he’s secretly trying to do us a favor...’

"President Peng, their acquisition targets in those three cities aren’t our plazas. They’re going after the three best local flagship properties!"

Peng Yu frowned, first in disappointment, then in a new wave of anxiety. ’If they complete those acquisitions and then launch a massive grand opening promotion, wouldn’t that just make things even worse for our malls in those areas?’

On top of that, the brands’ attitudes were becoming increasingly ambiguous.

Before, the Wansheng Group Hanjiang Region was the undisputed local hegemon. Many brands had to curry favor with them and were very compliant with all of Wansheng Square’s various demands.

But now, in the rankings of influential business management companies in Hanjiang Province, the Wansheng Group Hanjiang Region was clearly no match for Junxiao Business Management.

Anyone could see that Junxiao Business Management now owned nothing but top-tier malls, and with such a rapid growth trajectory, many brands were already placing their bets on them.

The confrontation between Junxiao Business Management and the Wansheng Hanjiang Region had started long ago. When the time came for the final showdown, and Junxiao Business Management made its move, he feared many brands would abandon the Wansheng Hanjiang Region in droves.

Besides, the Wansheng Hanjiang Region had almost no good properties left—only struggling plazas. These brands had never wanted to open stores in those locations to begin with; they had been forced to as part of package deals to get into the better malls.

Now that all the good properties were gone, those brands had been looking for an excuse to bolt for a long time.

’It looks like we’ll have to use the corporate group to put pressure on these national chain brands,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, they’ll be impossible to work with, and the Wansheng Hanjiang Region’s business management company will be completely paralyzed.’

In stark contrast to them, Xu Jun was riding a wave of success.

He had recently racked up a string of victories, earning not only a commendation from President Xu but also praise from President Chen himself. As a result, he had the opportunity today to accompany President Chen on an inspection of the commercial district.

Chen Xiao also felt for Xu Wu, who was swamped with work holding down the fort and directing things at the group’s headquarters.

As for the matter of the two Junxiao Squares in Jiangzhou besieging Wanhong Square, he had come to observe the battle in person.

Sitting in Xu Jun’s minivan, Chen Xiao said to him, "We still need to accelerate the development of our talent pipeline. You can lead the main negotiations, but you have to delegate the preliminary work. Otherwise, you’ll burn yourself out."

"Also, when we acquire these properties, not all of the original staff will be a good fit, so we need to ramp up our recruitment efforts."

"We have to conquer new territory and prepare for future battles at the same time."

Xu Jun listened intently. He knew President Chen wasn’t blaming him; on the contrary, his words were partly out of concern that he would overwork himself.

On the other hand, Junxiao Business Management was set to become a corporate group itself, and it would be impossible for him, as chairman, to handle everything personally. They really did need to accelerate talent recruitment.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to recruit sooner; there simply hadn’t been time. Just a short while ago, President Xu had given him the directive to acquire five plazas in twenty days—a feat that would be utterly impossible for any other organization.

Junxiao Business Management was only able to accomplish this task because of its willingness to spend lavishly. They simply battered down the doors with money, making offers that left the original owners both heartbroken to sell and breathless with excitement.

Of course, Xu Jun’s own round-the-clock efforts were also indispensable. He was giving it his all, fighting for the grand commercial empire he could already envision, fighting for his own success and legacy.

"President Chen, the management company running Wanhong Square is based in Kyoto. It’s called Minghan Business Management Company. They manage dozens of properties of various sizes across the country, but it’s all based on an asset-light model."

Don’t be fooled by their impressive-sounding names; they were all national business management companies. Because they operated on an asset-light model, their profit margins were still quite respectable.

But when it came to assets, Junxiao Business Management could now completely crush them. In fact, one could even say that their two plazas in Jiangzhou alone were worth more than all of Minghan’s assets combined.

Across the entire country, any company with net assets exceeding 3 billion was by no means a small enterprise.