Chapter 1168 The Board of Directors with an Unhappy Look

The town of Bentonville in northwest Arkansas is a small place with a population of just over 20,000. It is a place that can never be found on maps published in the country. In the United States, except for the map published by Arkansas, most of the other maps are the same. Can't find it either.

But as the saying goes, mountains are not high, immortals are famous; water is not deep, dragons are spiritual. This small place, because of one company, is very famous in the minds of many international companies, as well as many retailers and contractors. , a must-go place for salesmen.

This company is Wal-Mart, which was rated as the largest company in the United States last year, with sales of US$217.8 billion in fiscal year 2001.

The town of Bentonville is where Walmart is headquartered.

Of course, in the words of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, this place is Wal-Mart's "home office" because this old man always feels that the word "headquarters" sounds too artificial.

The fact that Wal-Mart set up its headquarters in such an unknown town later received many interpretations from various domestic "experts". The mainstream opinions said that this was a manifestation of Wal-Mart's "frugality", and then based on this He spoke earnestly and thoughtfully about some domestic company headquarters, saying that this is undesirable and that is not good.

What they said is actually quite nonsense.

The reason why Wal-Mart set up its headquarters in this small town is actually a forced choice. It is a successful commercial application of the strategy of "surrounding the city from the countryside."

Sam Walton, who had little strength at that time, founded the first Wal-Mart here because there were no competitors in such a small place. Until the 1980s, almost all Wal-Mart branches were opened in such places where the population ranged from several thousand to In a small town of about twenty-five thousand, it was a huge success.

Although Wal-Mart does not require it, as its business grows faster and faster around the world, more and more companies have set up their own offices in Wal-Mart in order to serve Wal-Mart as a big customer from the source.

For example, the daily necessities giant Procter & Gamble has set up an office with up to 300 people here specifically to serve Wal-Mart.

Today, the total number of suppliers that have opened offices here is close to 1,000. The town of Bentonville is full of offices with warehouses. The offices set up by these suppliers from all over the world have given this town a prosperous scene.

According to Wal-Mart's "frugal" nature, Hastings arrived at noon and it was his first time here. Naturally, he did not enjoy the pick-up treatment. In order to make the afternoon meeting go smoothly, after taking a short rest in the hotel, he came to the Visit the first Walmart store, now the Walmart Museum.

What he saw along the way inspired him. His original dream was to build Netflix into such an internationally influential company. But ironically, this time he came to a place like this. , what we want to talk about, at best, is cooperation, at worst, it is the willingness to let the other party acquire our company.

…………

At five past four in the afternoon, Hastings was in a room about ten square meters, with a prison-like window where you had to crane your neck to see the sun (it is said that this is a benefit only available to a few lucky executives) ) met Gary in his office.

When Hastings was waiting just now, he really felt how busy this place was, so he said without any more nonsense, he directly stated the purpose of his trip, "Gary, we all know that your company intends to make achievements in the field of online DVD rentals." , your advantage is your strong strength and complete domestic sales network, and Netflix is ​​the founding company of this model and is currently the most leading company in this field."

"To be honest, because of your company's involvement, we have recently had to invest a lot of resources to deal with it. It should be said that some of our strategies are relatively successful. You also know that at least in this field, your company has achieved a lot this year. Achievements are still limited,”

Gary nodded noncommittally.

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 will not let go of the information highway of the Internet.

However, as Netflix's independent director who works at a university said, the DVD rental business is indeed incidental to their sales process. Of course, the idea was brought up with some influence from Netflix. In short, , they don’t invest many resources in this area.

It can also be understood that this is a kind of trial and error.

After such a long talk and no response, Hastings felt a little uncomfortable. He adjusted his sitting posture and said, "These days, after thinking about this issue over and over again, I discovered that the advantages of your company and Netflix are actually naturally complementary. , I immediately felt that our confrontation like this would be a waste for both our companies, so Gary, I came here to seek cooperation,"

"Hastings, did NEXTDOOR submit to the SEC Form 13G or Form 13D?" Gary suddenly asked another question.

"So far, they have not provided the relevant forms to the SEC," Hastings said, becoming a little embarrassed. It turned out that Gary already knew his intentions.

According to the regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the acquisition of listed companies, just like in China, when you hold 5% or more of the equity of a listed company, you must make an announcement.

However, if you have no intention of obtaining control of the company, you only need to fill out the simple 13G form. When you have the intention of obtaining control of the target company, in order to let the market understand your intention, you must submit the 13D form.

However, unlike China, the Williams Act has relatively loose provisions on disclosure time, requiring shareholders to fill out Form 13d within 10 calendar days, and there is no requirement to stop buying and selling the stock during this period.

It has only been a few days since NEXTDOOR purchased 7.23% of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's equity in Netflix.

"So, actually, Hastings, you don't know how much of your shares NEXTDOOR holds?" Gary continued to ask.

"This..." Hastings really didn't know, but he knew that NEXTDOOR would definitely not stop.

"Let me be clear, and I believe you have also noticed that this is a very promising field, and it is also an field in which your company already has a certain foundation,"

"I am also clear that with my support and your company's strength and influence, our cooperation intentions can be easily realized,"

"I know more clearly that if NEXTDOOR takes control, 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 opponent,"

…………

"Exxon, everyone, this is Mr. Yiping Feng, the chairman of NEXTDOOR," Randolph took Feng Yiping to a rest area and introduced to the people there.

In Silicon Valley, under the arrangement of Randolph, Feng Yiping "accidentally met" seven Netflix directors, including Exxon, in a club.

"Feng, you don't need to introduce me, we all know each other," the seven people stepped forward to shake hands with Feng Yiping.

“But what you don’t know is that Feng Dui not only has a very clear understanding of Netflix, but also has a very exciting plan for the development of Netflix. More importantly, he has done a lot of fruitful things for the future of Netflix. preparation,"

"This is what we want to hear, Feng, can you give us a general introduction?" Exon said.

"Hastings and Randolph are indeed very visionary, but from the perspective of an onlooker, I think they are too pursuing leadership in a certain industry...,"

Although Feng Yiping did not clearly state his direction, after listening to his words, Exon said with emotion, "Where is Hastings? He should really come and listen,"

Feng Yiping glanced at Randolph. In fact, Hastings already knew similar words.

"Since Feng has such a wish, I think it is necessary for our two families to have some contact and communication now. I will inform Hastings," an independent director took out his mobile phone. After a while, he looked surprised. "Hastings is not in the company and his secretary doesn't know his whereabouts," said

"Let me ask," Randolph immediately walked to the side to make a phone call. After a while, he came over with a livid face, "I found it. He took the morning flight and went to Benton County, Arkansas."

"Benton, why do I feel familiar?" Ackerson said.

"Wal-Mart's headquarters is in Benton," said the expert who has researched Wal-Mart.

Now, Randolph was not the only one who looked ugly. "We just passed a resolution. Does he regard the board of directors as a decoration?" Exxon said angrily.

ps: Happy weekend!