Source: Chua Media
Times make heroes, and times also destroy heroes; But real heroes will come back. "Knowing the general trend, advancing and retreating" is now used to describe Wang Jianlin, the founder of Wanda, and it may be more appropriate.
Four years ago, the "general trend" of Wang Jianlin's era was a sudden change in the external situation after rounds of overseas expansion: financing tightened, the capital chain was almost broken, and Wanda had to face a difficult "deleveraging" process, which was Wanda's ownership. Times are getting smaller quickly.
In the following years, Wang Jianlin was forced to start a "slimming plan" and decisively sell his core assets. For example, in July of 20 17, the equity of 13 cultural tourism project and 77 city hotels were sold to Sun Hongbin of Sunac and Li Silian of R&F for 63.75 billion yuan respectively. China's richest man lives by sellers? This once shocked the outside world: enterprises that rely on capital leverage are so inflexible?
The tide is gone. Wang Jianlin, a Sichuanese born in the military, made a decisive decision at a critical moment: although he was helpless, he must resolutely quit. Although reluctant, but also can't have too much nostalgia. This is "knowing how to advance and retreat". In particular, "retreat" requires self-denial, especially the successful business model before.
After cleaning up heavy assets at one time, Wanda has now become a "complete business management and operation enterprise". It is reported that the former Wanda Property and the current Wanda Light Assets Commercial Management Company (hereinafter referred to as "Wanda Commercial Management") may be listed this year. Wanda is getting lighter and lighter, and its transformation is becoming more and more thorough. It has quietly walked in the forefront of the transformation of housing enterprises.
0 1, Wang Jianlin's "big times" and "small times"
Wang Jianlin is a generation of "network celebrity entrepreneurs". He has sharp words and quick thinking. His theory that "small goals" earn 1 100 million yuan is widely known and impressed ordinary people, and he jokes about this argument from time to time.
In the eyes of Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi, Wang Jianlin is a "person who doesn't do it at home". He led Wanda from Dalian to the whole country; From the whole country to the whole world. In the book wanda philosophy written by Wang Jianlin in all manuscripts, Liu Chuanzhi praised Wang Jianlin for his "forward-looking and bold decision-making"; "No empty talk, never hiding anything"; Although it is only a collection of speeches, it is a history of enterprise entrepreneurship after careful reading.
What impressed Liu Chuanzhi was Wang Jianlin's "three transformations":
The first time was in 2000, Wanda began to do commercial real estate. There are many objections, and residential real estate is developing so well. Why ask for it?
The second time was 20 10, when commercial real estate flourished and Wang Jianlin plunged into cultural tourism. Besides, investment and quick action are amazing. At first, everyone couldn't understand it, but Wang Jianlin found a new way.
The third time was Wanda's "e-commerce, finance, advancing with the times", as Liu Chuanzhi described.
This is Wang Jianlin's "great era", which is in line with the historical process of China's real estate development. Wang Jianlin keenly grasped the historical opportunity of China's urbanization development. Before 20 17, Wang Jianlin was a frequent visitor to the Fortune rich list. At the peak, he won the richest man in Asia with a net worth of $31300 million, surpassing Li Ka-shing.
New changes are coming. In 20 17, Fortune magazine of the United States selected the top 500 in the world, and Wanda was also on the list, ranking 380th. Looking closely, Wanda's operating income was $28.48 billion, its profit was $65,438+0 +0. 1.03 billion, and its net profit rate was less than 0.4%, compared with 8.88% in the previous year. This surprised the observers very much.
It is worth mentioning that Wanda Real Estate was listed in Hong Kong in 20 14 and 12, and it became the largest IPO of Hong Kong stocks in that year with a fundraising scale of HK$ 31300 million. In less than two years, that is, 2065438+March 2006, Wang Jianlin was privatized and delisted as "the valuation was lower than expected" and expected to be listed on A shares. Obviously, privatization has led to a decline in profitability.
According to an article entitled "Wang Jianlin's clearance sale", what does the richest man think of the policy? On the surface, Wanda bought it in buy buy, and behind it was the funds provided by financial institutions. This part of the funds went abroad through the way of "domestic insurance and foreign loans". Wanda and Wang Jianlin bear RMB liabilities at home and hold US dollar assets overseas.
Most of what Wang Jian bought were hotels, yacht companies, entertainment and sports companies and other pan-entertainment companies. And these assets are not needed by the country.
20 17 July, Wang Jianlin, who "saw the general trend", decisively sold his 13 cultural tourism project and 76 hotels. It is worth mentioning that half a year before the transfer decision was made, Wang Jianlin also publicly stated that he would beat Disney. Six months later, he will sell the weapons that defeated Disney. "This has undoubtedly won people's hearts," a financial commentator bluntly said.
In the following years, Wanda has been under the magnifying glass of the outside world, even cynically, and Wanda, whose front line is shrinking, is undoubtedly facing a difficult "small era." Interestingly, compared with the recent debt difficulties faced by Suning and Evergrande, Wanda's "selling and selling" has become a "model" for successful transformation.
02. Sell, sell, sell: Give up some interests and preserve the whole.
"A long time ago, 1998, an interview with a live event in Chengdu, met once, talked about buying Dalian Wanda football team, won the first place in A, and later sold it to Shide at a high price. The pride of high cash is impressive! " A media person talked about an intersection with Wang Jianlin more than 20 years ago.
Wang Jianlin's last "high cash" was on May 23rd, 20021year. On the same day, Dalian Wanda Group announced in official website that it had completely withdrawn from the board of directors of AMC (NYSE: AMC), retaining only a minority stake, with a total withdrawal of $65.438+47.6 million. Investment income exceeds 1 times.
In 20 12, Wang Jianlin spent $2.6 billion to buy a 0/00% stake in AMC/kloc-0, the world's largest cinema chain, which was Wanda's first acquisition that year. It is reported that this investment includes $700 million in cash, $65.438+0.9 billion in debt and $500 million in equipment renovation costs.
However, according to Wanda, Wanda's actual cash investment in AMC is only 700 million US dollars, and its debt still belongs to AMC. After AMC went public, it has settled the equipment decoration fee of 500 million US dollars. According to the returned US$ 65.438+0.476 billion, Wanda's investment income in AMC has exceeded 65.438+0 times.
In addition, Wang Jianlin also accelerated the contraction of overseas investment: selling the World Iron Man Company and emptying five overseas real estate projects. According to media statistics, Wanda has emptied all its overseas real estate projects, with a total withdrawal of about 6.504 billion yuan. Some analysts believe that the assets that Wang Jianlin bought overseas in those years are actually not bad, and they can be sold at a premium, basically not doing loss-making business.
Domestically, Wanda also sold and sold. Wang Jianlin also shouted out that "the Commercial Management Group stripped off its real estate business, and one square meter of real estate development could not be obtained, becoming a thorough business management and operation enterprise", which shows its determination.
In addition to selling cultural tourism projects and hotels, Wang Jianlin also introduced four investment projects: Tencent, Suning, JD.COM and Sunac, and invested 34 billion yuan in Wanda Commercial Management. Introduce Ali and Beijing Wentou to invest 7 billion yuan in Wanda Cinema; 6 billion yuan will transfer Wenlv Management Company to Sunac. From the outside world, Wanda experienced the reform of "mixed ownership", which cemented the strength of China's north and south, and laid the foundation for its future management, culture and investment layout.
At the internal summary meeting of Wanda in early 200019, Wang Jianlin said that the income from capital operation contracts in 200018 was 82.7 billion yuan and the cash was 62.7 billion yuan. Most of these incomes are equity capital operation, and a small part is asset transfer. Wanda has gained a breathing space for transformation by selling it. In the analysis, Wang Jianlin, who has a high degree of "political wisdom", abandoned part of Wanda's interests and preserved the overall interests.
Wanda's fourth transformation is very successful in Wang Jianlin's view. Real estate is no longer the main source of income, and the ultimate goal is set at 2020. According to reports, Wanda Commercial Management Co., Ltd. had a short "painful period" at the beginning of divesting its real estate business, but its net profit margin increased for two consecutive years in 20 18 and 20 19, and its profit margin reached a new high of 3 1.9 1% in the last five years.
03. How to lay out light assets? What does Wanda rely on?
In 2020, the epidemic suddenly broke out. How did Wanda survive? According to the data released by Wanda, in 2020, the rental rate in wanda plaza will be as high as 99.4%, and the rent collection rate will reach an astonishing 99.9%. If the impact of rent reduction of 4.33 billion yuan is deducted, even affected by the epidemic, the rent in wanda plaza will increase by 8. 1% in 2020 compared with that in 20 19, achieving a contrarian growth.
Wanda not only didn't fall, but also lived well. During the epidemic, Wanda made a profit of 4.33 billion yuan, and its rental income was more than 20 19 years. From the outside world, this is a great business miracle. Now Wanda's various business segments have begun to seek brand and management output in an all-round way. Among them, Wanda Commercial Management's light capitalization is the most thorough.
According to reports, in 2020, Wanda Commercial Management announced that from 20021,it will no longer develop heavy assets, that is, it will no longer invest and hold properties in wanda plaza, and fully implement the strategy of light assets. Every year, no less than 60 wanda plaza companies will sign up for "light assets". Wanda official website shows that there are currently 385 in wanda plaza.
Wang Jianlin expounded the "light asset model" of Wanda Commercial at an annual meeting, and divided Wanda's light assets into two categories: the investment category is that others pay, Wanda helps others find land, design, build, attract investment, and hand it over to others after operation, and there is also a capitalization procedure. The category of cooperation is that Wanda neither pays nor leaves the land, feels that the project is suitable, signs a contract with others and helps others build it. After the completion, the rent is divided into 37%.
Xinhua News Agency also spoke highly of the "Wanda Model". The original text is as follows: Throughout the business history of China and even the whole world, excellent enterprises that can export brand management value are rare, and it usually takes hundreds of years. It took Wanda 30 years to make "wanda plaza" into it, and it is very rare to have the value of global brands such as Coca-Cola, Disney and Nike.
What makes Wanda? Relying on my own management experience and brand, "as a consultant of some big banks, I was invited to diagnose some shopping centers with bad assets." The bank hopes that I can provide some experience to help them do it, but after reading some projects, I only have one opinion-blowing them up and starting over, there is no way to improve. " Wang Jianlin said this in wanda philosophy, which was said on September 27th, 20 10.
Wang Jianlin cited an example of a shopping mall in Songjiang, Shanghai. It's near the university town, at the end of the subway station. The location is very good, but the complex with a total construction area of 480,000 square meters has only seven floors, each floor is more than 60,000 square meters, with a unified height of 4.5 meters and a bearing capacity of 500 kilograms.
"More than 60,000 square meters, people can't find the north at all; Unified floor height and load, regardless of the needs of businesses. It was still in the foundation pit stage. I sincerely suggest to several shareholders that they must start all over again, but they are reluctant to part with the tens of millions of yuan of infrastructure they have invested. In the end, this project became an unfinished building and lost hundreds of millions. " Wang Jianlin said with regret.