Chapter 946
"Cantalupo? Jim from McDonald's?" Oprah, who grew up in Chicago, naturally knows who the current head of the old McDonald's company is.
Feng Yiping also wanted her to know who it was.
"Let me say a few words to him," Oprah held out her hand.
Feng Yiping hung up the phone neatly and put it in his pocket.
He and she haven't gotten to know each other well enough.
If at the beginning of today, a small staff member was not randomly sent to greet him, if Oprah had contacted Feng Yiping in person instead of those three guys, if Oprah could use less imperative sentences when asking questions, And it's really as kind as an aunt... Then Feng Yiping doesn't mind being more intimate with her.
I used to have that attitude, but now I want to be so enthusiastic, so oblivious, why?
Oprah looked stunned.
Some people are like this. They always regard themselves as different fireworks, and take it for granted that no matter what they do, the people around them will still follow her wishes. Excuse me, auntie, why are you? If others say you are a queen, do you really think you are a queen?
Feng Yiping patted Buchanan on the shoulder. He could imagine how Buchanan would be treated when he came to this company.
"Ms. Oprah, I'm sorry. Our schedule is very tight. We can only do this today. If you have any questions, you can contact our public relations department at any time. Thank you." In any case, courtesy must be done.
"Oh, okay." Seeing Feng Yiping, who was just like the good students with good grades in Asia in his impression, he bumped himself into two nails without being soft or hard. Oprah, who gave Feng Yiping and his party a special treat, has changed significantly now.
Whether it is the smile on the face or the words in the mouth, for the first time, it is no longer so stylized, but has become distracted.
Her talk show is certainly a scarce resource, but with Feng Yiping's current achievements, let alone a talk show in the United States, she has never even done a news interview, which is even more scarce.
"Okay, I'm sorry that today's arrangement is not very thoughtful. You know, we are a program that pays great attention to the quality of the program. There is a lot of preparation work. Every member of the team is running at high speed, including me,"
Such an excuse might, in her view, be equivalent to an apology.
"I understand." Feng Yiping held out a hand to shake her hand and said goodbye, "By the way, it may not be true. From a management point of view, if everyone in a team is busy all the time, generally As far as the team is concerned, there are some problems with this team, either the team configuration, or the essence of 'busy',"
"No matter when, the eighty-twenty principle is an important principle that a team should always follow," Merback also said.
Come on, are you busy talking about work in front of two billionaires and two listed company founders?
Buchanan already understood Feng Yiping's meaning at this time, "Goodbye, Ms. Oprah, members of your team, I have my contact information,"
He still hopes to make this interview happen, especially now that this is a really good time.
"Okay." Oprah's cheeks seemed to be painted with blush at this time.
She walked out of the conference room and saw Feng Yiping and Merbak in front of them, talking and laughing as they walked towards the elevator, without any intention of waiting for her.
She still didn't follow to see off the guests.
…………
"Is it true that people who are slightly famous in the entertainment circle behave like this?" Feng Yiping asked in the car.
Then he immediately remembered, is there even a need to ask!
As far as those domestic celebrities or hosts who are a little bit famous, they always look gentle, courteous and humble in front of the public, but in private, aren't they still more pretentious than the other, with great style and temper? Not to mention a world-renowned host like Oprah.
"The entertainment industry," Buchanan said, "is different from the business world. Look at the style of some big stars when they appear on the stage, which is almost as good as the president of the United States."
"Feng, I suggest you that sometimes being too gentle is not a good thing. It's good for business partners, but there's absolutely no need to be so polite to these people in the entertainment circle,"
Feng Yiping nodded, "Teachable,"
It's really like this, sometimes, you are too gentle, some people really think you are easy to handle, so they don't take you seriously.
…………
After a few days of testing, the two sides met again at McDonald's headquarters.
Because it was at least the second time we met, and the atmosphere was more harmonious than last time. Seeing the smiles on the faces of Cantalupo and Charlie, Feng Yiping understood that this matter is quite interesting!
"Fon, you're going to be on Oprah?" Cantalupo asked.
"Hehe, this is Buchanan's arrangement, because I seldom show up in front of the American public, so he thinks that I should use this advantage to do more publicity for the company, so I have no choice but to obey,"
"It's not necessarily the Oprah show. I have contacted several other shows, but they haven't been finalized yet," Buchanan said.
"However, we're in Chicago, and Oprah is in Chicago," Charlie said. "That's a natural advantage."
We originally thought so too, but the previous experience was really uncomfortable.
"Fon, you're always like this," Cantalupo said. "You always make offers that are hard to refuse," said Cantalupo.
"This is because I always believe that at least a win-win cooperation can last for a long time,"
"That is, your company agreed to our cooperation request?" Merback was a little excited.
“We accepted Coinstar’s proposal after going through various departments of the company and discussing with the board of directors,” Cantalupo said.
Although Feng Yiping believes that this is a matter of pinching with hands, after hearing Cantalupo say it with certainty, it must be false to say that he is not excited or excited.
Acquiring Coin Star is the first step, and cooperating with McDonald's is the second step.
If the first step is frustrated, there is actually no big loss, at most, some preparatory work will be invested in the early stage.
But if the second step is frustrated, it means that his entire plan has been difficult to complete. Although he will definitely get a high return by acquiring Coin Star, this is not the result he wants. How to let Netflix come to his bowl , is the ultimate goal of his planning for so long.
"I believe that in the near future, you will be proud of today's decision,"
“We believe in Feng’s strategic vision and Coinstar’s excellent execution,” Cantalupo said. “However, the board of directors is not uncompromising on some of the terms you proposed,”
Next, it was Charlie's turn to charge forward, or if it was hard to say, he always came up with it, "As for Coin Star's 51% shareholding, the members of the board of directors all expressed disbelief in such a request,"
"That's not the purpose," Merback naturally replied here. "The reason why we make such a request is to be responsible to both parties, including the boards of directors of both parties."
"Oh?"
"I think the two should agree with us. After reaching a cooperation agreement, it is more cost-effective for Redbox to be run by us," Merbaker stated.
"We agree with that point of view after a rigorous accounting by the finance department," Cantalupo said.
"Then I would like to ask you two, would you accept a boss who is not familiar with the specific business to interfere with your specific work?" Merback turned to talk about something that seemed irrelevant.
"Of course not, and McDonald's has avoided such a situation through the situation of the system,"
"So, do you think McDonald's is more familiar and experienced than Coinstar in cooperating with supermarkets and managing DVD rental machines?" Merbark said.
Such an analogy is indeed very convincing.
If McDonald's itself is very experienced in this area and has a strong executive team, then how can Feng Yiping and Coin Star have a share in Redbox?
"We are doing and making decisions, but we don't necessarily understand some of the obstacles in the actual work. Such a combination, if we want to make Redbox the biggest, make our reputation in the DVD rental market, and finally get a considerable proportion of market share, it's going to be quite difficult," he said.
"When I think about it, the first thing we always have to resolve is all kinds of disputes and internal conflicts? What do you two think?"
"Merback, you are indeed very convincing," Cantalupo said with a smile, "but Feng, you also know the history of McDonald's and understand the strength of McDonald's,"
"Of course, here we do not mean to belittle Feng you and NEXTDOOR, including all your other businesses,"
"No, I understand,"
In the minds of Chinese people, it seems that McDonald's is not good, and KFC is much better than McDonald's, but it is not the case at all.
This is because KFC seized the opportunity when it entered my country and entered the country in 1987, while McDonald's did not start to explore the Chinese market until three full years later.
Step by step, step by step, the number of KFC stores in China has always been more than double that of McDonald's.
But in the United States, and many other countries, on the contrary, McDonald's occupies an absolute leading position.
The business in China will later account for more than 60% of KFC's global business. For McDonald's, the business in China has not even been its main business.
Most intuitively speaking, in the past few years, McDonald's has been hovering around 350 in the ranking of the world's top 500, while KFC's parent company, Yum!
McDonald's now has an annual revenue of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars. Feng Yiping's domestic and foreign companies are far behind him, let alone a coin star with a market value of less than one billion.
Now, if you want to cooperate on a business pioneered by McDonald's, you, a little guy, still want to hold a controlling stake? It is estimated that some shareholders will feel that it is an insult.
"I understand your difficulty too,"
Feng Yiping knows that under such circumstances, if he still insists on holding more than 50% of the shares, Cantalupo's job will be difficult to do, so he insists on not making concessions and puts all the pressure on Cantalupo , is not a good way.
"For the sake of cooperation and the common interests of both parties, I think we can give up the requirement of holding shares," Feng Yiping thought for a while, and said immediately.
"Thank you, thank you for your understanding,"
Feng Yiping's statement like this means that the biggest difficulty in this cooperation no longer exists.
"However, for the sake of cooperation and the common interests of both parties, I have a few additional requirements. The specific operation of Redbox will be in charge of Coin Star,"
"Feng, this has not been a problem for a long time,"
“I mean, by the guy who is the star of the coin, who is also the chairman and CEO of Redbox, I hope this is clearly written into the agreement,”
"Since the specific operation is entrusted to the coin star, such a request is very reasonable," Cantalupo said, "Are there any other requirements?"
"In order to ensure that this request can be implemented, I hope that on the board of directors of Redbox, Coinstar, more than half of the directors will be appointed,"
This is the key.
The chairman and CEO are always responsible to the board of directors. Feng Yiping believes that during Cantalupo's term of office, it doesn't matter even if the coin star is at a disadvantage in Redbox's board of directors.
However, who can guarantee whether there will be such a tacit understanding after the next McDonald's president takes office?
"I'm personally leaning towards a five-person board,"
This request made Cantalupo frowned again, "Although I understand your concerns, but, Feng, I have to say that it is not easy to get the board of directors to agree to such additional conditions. I am afraid that what you said , exactly what our board of directors must ask for,"
That's why I proposed this additional clause.
And, isn't it easy? Feng Yiping thinks it is easy and easy, not easy and not easy, it depends on what Cantalupo does.
"However, since you have shown sincerity, I will try my best to meet your request."
Although it was difficult to say, Cantalupo agreed readily, thinking that he also knew Feng Yiping's true thoughts.
"I look forward to hearing from you," it's easy to work with someone so experienced.
…………
Feng, you mean to ensure that the number of directors we appoint on the board of directors is the same as that of McDonald's, for example, two, and then hire an independent director? ’ said Merback on the way back to the hotel.
"That's exactly what I mean. If McDonald's appoints more than half of the directors, internal friction in the future will definitely be inevitable. This is what I hate the most, but independent directors are definitely easier to fight for than McDonald's shareholders,"
Speaking of which, at this meeting, he misses the domestic business environment a little bit.
If it was in China, why would it be so troublesome?
If there is a company that takes the lead in launching a business similar to Redbox, Feng Yiping can copy its model and invest on a large scale, and then, if it goes wrong, it will force the first company to go bankrupt.
This is the so-called walking in the path of others, leaving others nowhere to go.
More than ten years later, such barbaric behaviors are still common in China.
But in the society of the United States, facing a giant like McDonald's, it's really not easy to do so.
ps: A group has been established, 454, 231, 228, everyone is welcome to come and give more valuable opinions. I look forward to having the opportunity to communicate with you!