[ps: Cough, cough, I apologize to everyone. I made a very foolish mistake, which was to write the Walton family as the Walmart family. I am guilty, please forgive me.]
"As for the third point!" Huang He said lightly, "We are also very willing to cooperate more deeply with Walmart and exchange each other is not unacceptable. However, the 3:1 ratio is not enough. We believe a 10:1 ratio is more appropriate!"
"What! Is there such a good thing in this world?" Rob Walton was startled, and then Boss Huang continued, "It's just that 10% of Walmart's stock is exchanged for 1% of Jiangnan Group's stock!"
"Mr. Huang, you're not joking with me, are you!" Rob Walton perfectly demonstrated what a change of expression is. At this moment, Rob Walton's expression became extremely unpleasant.
"Of course I'm not joking. If Walmart wants to invest in Jiangnan Group, this is the only ratio." Huang He said.
"Then I have to say you've gone completely mad. Walmart's total market value is currently 200 billion US dollars. Could Jiangnan Group be worth 20 trillion US dollars?" Rob Walton sneered.
"20 trillion US dollars is still too low!" Huang He nodded very seriously. "I think the current actual value of Jiangnan Group is around 4 trillion US dollars. Therefore, I have intentionally given you a half-price discount this time!"
"..." Rob Walton suddenly found that he didn't even know how to be angry. What Huang He said sounded simply too funny.
"I understand. Mr. Huang, you simply refuse to trade shares with us Walmart, right!" Rob Walton snorted coldly.
"More or less! If this price is unacceptable, then there's really no need to transact!" Huang He actually wanted to tell the other party that he was very serious about his offer, but Rob Walton didn't believe him, so there was nothing he could do.
"Alright then, because of your refusal, I need to think about this cooperation. We'll talk about it later!" Rob Walton said, then angrily hung up the phone, gritting his teeth in hatred.
But after the hatred subsided, Rob Walton, having regained his composure and thought it over, could not help but admit that even if the share exchange could not be completed, the other two conditions promised by Jiangnan Group were conditions that Walmart could not refuse.
Especially the second condition, although Huang He said that even if the cooperation could not be reached, the second condition could still be provided to Walmart, but Rob Walton was not stupid. Since the cooperation could not be successful, it was possible that Jiangnan Group would use some small tricks in this customized service, making Walmart very uncomfortable.
So, from the bottom of his heart, Rob Walton was actually willing to sign with Jiangnan Group, but Huang He's attitude at the end made Rob Walton very uncomfortable. If he agreed at this moment, wouldn't that mean he was admitting defeat?
Rob Walton found that he still could not make a decision, so he got up and left his study, went to the garden on the first floor, and found a white-haired old woman basking in the sun in the garden.
This was an extremely old woman, with four maids serving her comprehensively.
Rob Walton dismissed the four maids, personally walked to the old woman's side, and then knelt down, holding the old woman's hand, and affectionately called out, "Mother!"
That's right, this old woman was Rob Walton's mother, and also one of the founders who, together with his father Sam Walton, built and developed the Walmart Group, and the current chairman, Helen Walton.
"Do you have something difficult to decide again?" Helen Walton, knowing her son very well, asked directly. So Rob Walton told her about the difficult situation he was facing.
"I'll just ask you one question: do you think this cooperation is beneficial to Walmart? Or will the benefits outweigh our losses? And from a long-term perspective, is this a more suitable choice?" Helen Walton's triple question made Rob Walton pause for a while before he seriously said, "Yes, this is beneficial to the development of Walmart Group. Walmart cannot just rely on the hypermarket industry. In the future, electronic products will occupy a huge market. If Walmart cannot break into this market, it will face the crisis of being eliminated in the future!"
"Moreover, I believe that the e-commerce market may become as large as the hypermarket market in the future. Walmart currently lacks experience in e-commerce operations and the most critical operational talent."
"Therefore, through cooperation with Oriental Amazon this time, we can master their operating techniques. After the three-year contract period expires, we can directly kick Oriental Amazon out, and then build a global e-commerce platform centered around Walmart's supermarkets all over the world!" Rob Walton fully conveyed his planned development strategy to his mother.
"Since that's the case, then what are you still hesitating about? Haven't you already made this decision very clear?" Helen Walton retorted.
"It's nothing. First, I was mocked by that Huang He, and I felt very uncomfortable. But this is not the main point. The main point is that I am afraid that Jiangnan Group may really grow into a company with a scale exceeding trillions as Huang He said, and then Walmart will probably not be able to compete with Jiangnan Group!" Rob Walton revealed his deepest concern.
"It's good that you have such foresight!" Helen Walton nodded. "But have you considered another question: if Walmart does not cooperate with Jiangnan Group, will Jiangnan Group become a threat to us in the future? Will this affect Jiangnan Group's development speed and prospects?"
Hearing this question, Rob Walton thought seriously for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Unless the government intervenes or Huang He dies, Jiangnan Group cannot be suppressed. Because Jiangnan Group possesses its own technology that outsiders cannot replace. And the entire electronic production capacity of China, this is something the whole world cannot refuse. Relying solely on Walmart's cooperation cannot limit its rise!"
"Since the enemy cannot be restrained, then one can only strengthen oneself!" Helen Walton said lightly. Rob Walton nodded and then withdrew. He understood his mother's meaning.
However, Rob Walton was still unhappy. If he were to immediately call Jiangnan Group and request cooperation, Rob Walton would still find it difficult to do so.
Therefore, Rob Walton decided to stall for ten days to half a month, waiting for Jiangnan Group to proactively come to him for negotiations.
As a result, a few minutes later, Rob Walton's secretary delivered a document stating that Liu Qiangdong had already contacted Kmart, and it was rumored that Kmart's senior management was very interested in this cooperation, and was preparing to conduct further negotiations with Liu Qiangdong.
"This scoundrel! He was begging for my forgiveness on his knees one second, and the next he dared to negotiate with someone behind our backs!" Seeing this news, Rob Walton angrily threw the document on the ground.
"Sir, I will inform them immediately that Walmart refuses to cooperate with them in any way!" the secretary quickly said. He did not know about Rob Walton's phone call with Huang He, nor about Rob Walton's conversation with his mother, and directly said this.
"Yes, you call them immediately and ask them to come to the company headquarters!" Rob Walton said.
"Yes! Should I inform them to terminate the contract?" the secretary nodded.
"In addition, notify Mr. Jefferson and ask him to immediately organize a complete negotiation team and start negotiations with them, finalizing all the details of the cooperation and leaving no loopholes! Most importantly, the entire cooperation will only last for three years, and we will consider renewing the contract after three years!" Rob Walton said.
"Yes..." The secretary's mouth widened halfway through, but he quickly closed it again and said nothing more, because every word he said next would make him seem incredibly foolish.
Liu Qiangdong did not make Walmart wait long. The next day, he returned to Walmart headquarters. With both parties' senior management having reached a consensus and finalized the details of the cooperation, and both parties having sufficient sincerity for cooperation, the negotiation itself became very simple. Liu Qiangdong proactively conceded some benefits, but insisted on maintaining Oriental Amazon's core interests, and finally reached a cooperation agreement that satisfied both parties.
According to this cooperation agreement, Oriental Amazon and Walmart would cooperate for three years, after which both parties would negotiate whether to renew the contract. If either party disagreed, the contract would not continue.
During the cooperation period, Walmart would open its warehouses in all its stores in the United States to Oriental Amazon, and make over 60% of Walmart's merchandise inventory available for sale online by Oriental Amazon.
Depending on the type of goods, Walmart would provide Oriental Amazon with goods at prices ranging from 90% to 95% of its regular retail prices. Oriental Amazon's online store prices would not exceed Walmart's in-store prices by more than 10%.
Walmart's sales on Oriental Amazon would be settled separately for each store. If Walmart's different stores were to launch corresponding promotional activities, these activities would have to be proportionally transferred to the official website of the store and could not be promoted independently.
During the cooperation period, all merchandise delivery work would be completed by Oriental Amazon. At the same time, Oriental Amazon must guarantee that within a 30-minute driving distance from Walmart stores, it would be within its delivery range.
To protect Walmart's brand reputation and product value, Oriental Amazon must complete deliveries within the specified time. Once overdue, it would need to compensate the customer.
If merchandise is damaged during transportation, Oriental Amazon must also compensate the user.
If Walmart's brand reputation and product image are damaged due to Oriental Amazon's reasons, Oriental Amazon will have to compensate Walmart for the corresponding losses, and so on.
There were some other clauses that were somewhat unfair to Oriental Amazon, but Liu Qiangdong accepted these conditions. He had to complete the signing as quickly as possible, as time was running out for him.