394: Chapter 394 Acquisition of Chizhu Winery! The dismal state of the wine industry!

Not long after, high-ranking officials from above sent someone to call and inquire about Jufan Holdings' acquisition of Chizhu Wine Industry, as they were quite concerned about this matter.

After all, developing the wine industry in Derong County was a provincial decision. Beyond wanting to create a red wine calling card for the province, it was also meant to help the local Tibetan people with economic development... This was quite important!

Faced with the high-ranking officials, Su Yang naturally shouted out the slogan of investing 300 million within five years.

The slogan was to build an international red wine brand and help the local folks shake off poverty and get rich!

Before long, the higher-ups notified them that local district leaders would be visiting Jiuxiang Food for an inspection, asking Jiuxiang Food to prepare for the reception.

Su Yang had Tan Yanghong prepare for the reception, and subsequently, Jiuxiang Food appeared on the TV evening news.

Of course, it was entirely positive coverage.

In addition to praising Jiuxiang Food for developing from a regular small snack factory into a snack enterprise with annual sales exceeding 500 million, creating a high-quality provincial snack brand, promoting local employment, and generating tax revenue for the area.

They also praised the contributions Jiuxiang Food had made in establishing an employee welfare system and promoting employment for people with disabilities.

In the news report, Jiuxiang Food's snack processing lines were tidy and clean, with all employees wearing dust-proof suits, masks, hats, and gloves, looking clean and hygienic.

Naturally, the district leaders also emphasized food safety and hygiene, which were "hot topics" at the moment and the focus of concern for ordinary people.

There was even a segment featuring a TV interview with Tan Yanghong, the general manager of Jiuxiang Food!

Although television stations were on the decline now and their promotional effectiveness was far from what it used to be, they certainly still had a significant promotional impact!

Furthermore, with the inspection and praise from district leaders, Jiuxiang Food could conduct its local business even more smoothly.

Watching the news report, Su Yang couldn't help but say to Jiang Yuzhen, "Our General Manager Tan is quite photogenic!"

"Hmm!" Jiang Yuzhen didn't comment.

When the district leaders inspected the company, Su Yang naturally did not appear in front of the cameras.

However, when the district leaders were speaking, he sat in the front row!

He had already mentioned to the leaders that he was still young, wanted to relax for a few more years, and didn't want to step into the limelight.

They agreed directly, only urging Su Yang to focus on developing the industry and not to stop his progress just because of his current success.

He needed to actively expand the market and strive to become a leader in the snack industry!

In early March, Jiuxiang Food officially signed the acquisition agreement with representatives from Chenyu Group and Fildo Group.

Chenyu Group and Fildo Group sold 100% of the equity of Chizhu Wine Industry to Jiuxiang Food for 65 million.

This time, a large number of media outlets participated as well!

After all, this involved a transaction between a well-known local food company, a listed red wine industry leader, and a French luxury wine giant.

Likewise, the three-hundred-million investment promised by Jiuxiang Food also made the news.

Su Yang knew that this investment definitely couldn't be shortchanged!

However, he didn't care; this was something already in the plans anyway.

Although he didn't like drinking baijiu, he didn't mind having some sweet wine or champagne!

The domestic wine industry was quite bleak at this stage. Most listed wine companies weren't making any profit, and many were still suffering long-term losses. Only Chenyu Group was doing a bit better, but even then, they only had a few hundred million in annual profit!

Chinese people didn't have the habit of drinking wine, and the frequency of consumption was very low.

Domestic wine sales only accounted for 1.2% of baijiu sales, with a negligible market share.

The total sales of red wine nationwide were 9.09 billion yuan, while the sales of baijiu reached as high as 756.3 billion yuan.

With such sales figures, they still had to compete with foreign imported products; it was unbelievably brutal!

Furthermore, the overall quality of domestic wine was poor.

Grape cultivation was substandard, raw materials were unqualified, and they were mixed with sugar, acid, and coloring agents...

Even though some domestic wineries had produced some high-quality products in recent years.

Not to mention the low production volume, the prices were exorbitantly expensive!

They easily cost hundreds or thousands per bottle, which ordinary people simply couldn't afford.

Moreover, most of the wine on the market was dry red... the taste wasn't very friendly to newcomers.

Even though the wine industry wasn't doing well right now, Su Yang didn't mind much; he was here to pioneer.

This was also an opportunity to become a leader in the wine industry!

A small leader... wasn't that still a leader!

As long as the quality was good, the taste was delicious, and the price wasn't outrageous, why would they fear that the wine wouldn't sell?

Plus, he could also export and earn foreign exchange!

In the evening, Su Yang, Tan Yanghong, and other people from Jiuxiang Food were warmly received by the local leaders once again.

Besides the bonfire and roasted whole lamb, they had also specifically arranged the locally famous "Xueqiang" dance.

Many employees were pulled over to dance.

Everyone held hands, under the starry sky, around the bonfire, dancing along to the rhythm.

In the end, quite a few employees were drunk and passed out on the grass... They were just too enthusiastic!

By ten o'clock the next day, Su Yang gathered the remaining thirty-plus employees of Chizhu Wine Industry for a meeting.

Many employees sent over by Jiuxiang Food had a bit of a hangover, but it wasn't a big problem!

Chizhu Wine Industry certainly didn't only have thirty-plus employees originally, but the former general manager of Chizhu Wine Industry had resigned and taken the financial staff with him, so Jiuxiang Food had already sent financial personnel to take over the financial work.

Besides that, Chenyu and Fildo had also withdrawn quite a few technical personnel.

However, Su Yang didn't care, as the key technical staff had already chosen to stay.

This included the Fernando couple, as well as five French people including Adrian!

There weren't many foreigners working in China right now, but there were definitely some, and many were concentrated in large companies.

A portion of technical personnel from the domestic wine industry who had been poached would also arrive successively.

They were all technical employees from Chenyu Group recommended by Fernando, whom he had met when exchanging winemaking techniques at the time.

Su Yang reckoned that when the person in charge at Chenyu Group realized what had happened, their expression would likely be quite spectacular!

Su Yang appointed Hu Shurong, the former deputy general manager of Chizhu Wine Industry, as the general manager to preside over the company's work first.

Then, he had Cai Feiping, transferred from Jiuxiang Food, manage the finances.

As for other deputy general managers, Su Yang had other arrangements; he still needed someone skilled in marketing!

Hu Shurong had a university degree, and at over forty years old, he looked like an old man of fifty.

Being a university student from over twenty years ago still carried a lot of weight.

Hu Shurong had started from the grassroots and worked his way up to middle management; his future certainly would have been quite bright.

However, ten years ago, he was banished to Derong County, this desolate little county, to pioneer, and he had stayed there for ten years.

It could be said that he was a founding veteran of Chizhu Wine Industry, yet he had no sense of belonging to Chenyu Group!

After Su Yang had a brief contact with him, he agreed to stay.

Su Yang kept him not only because of his good abilities, but also because he was familiar with the local environment.

He knew better how to get along with the locals!

If someone else had been brought in, work might not have been easy to carry out.

Besides the technical personnel, the company mostly consisted of sales and local staff, including four security guards.

Chizhu Wine Industry's sales channels were naturally retained, but Su Yang wouldn't rely on these channels.

Because Chizhu Wine Industry hadn't been selling well to begin with, suffering losses year after year, and its sales channels were concentrated within the province.