Jewelry Celebrity-Zheng Yutong
Chow Tai Fook started as a child.
Zheng Yutong is the third richest man in Hong Kong, with personal assets of HK$ 30 billion. As soon as Hong Kong people hear his name, they will associate it with Chow Tai Fook jewelry, which is a household name. In his Hong Kong New World Group, it is a multinational group with diversified and all-round development in hotels, real estate, gold, jewelry and other industries.
Zheng Yutong is not good at talking. People who don't know him always think that behind his brilliant achievements are countless fortunes. In this regard, he said: "It is possible for a person to be lucky once or twice in his life, but it is impossible to be lucky forever. If you want to be lucky forever, you must pay eternal diligence and sincerity, and then luck will always accompany you. "
Although Zheng Yutong has today's glory, it also has poverty that it struggled with as a child. 1925 was born in a poor family in Shunde county, Guangdong province on August 27th. When I was a child, my family relied on my father to open a small shop to make ends meet. It turned out that his parents wanted him to specialize in his studies, but he was forced to drop out of school when he was only in junior high school. /kloc-At the age of 0/3, due to the invasion of Guangzhou and Hong Kong by the Japanese invaders, millions of citizens were in turmoil, food and clothing were unstable, and their lives were difficult to guarantee. They went out to visit relatives and friends. At that time, Macao was a colony of Portugal. Because many Japanese immigrants live in South America under Portuguese colonial rule, the Japanese invaders dare not trample on Macao. In desperation, father Zheng Jingzhi also sent his son to Macau to work as a waiter in Chow Tai Fook Gold Store opened by his friend Zhou Zhiyuan.
Gold shop is a special industry, and the boss never dares to abuse it without knowing the details. The Zhou family and the Zheng family have deep roots. A Tong, who is sensible, has left a good impression on the Zhou family since he was a child. Catch up with "Chow Tai Fook" gold shop, just lack of reliable guys, so I took Xiao Tong.
There are waiters and waitresses in the gold shop. The waiter is a handyman. Zheng Yutong started as a handyman and cleaned the floor, dust, toilet and spittoon inside and outside every day. When everything was ready, he opened a shop and did business with the late waiter. For a child who is only 14 or 15 years old, the work during this period seems to be very busy and hard, but the sensible little A Tong is determined to live up to his boss's "never give up" and work honestly and diligently.
"Chow Tai Fook" gold shop was not famous at that time because it entered the business late. Soon after entering the store, A Tong's hard-working wisdom reflected in his work was gradually appreciated by Zhou Zhiyuan. One day, Zhou Zhiyuan sent a boy to the dock to meet a relative. On the dock, ships from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia keep landing, and the crowd is bustling and endless. Suddenly, a Nanyang businessman asked passers-by where I could exchange Hong Kong dollars. Many people know that this is a good business opportunity. A Tong, who is still young, also enthusiastically stepped forward to strike up a conversation. He said with a strong Shunde accent: "You can go to Chow Tai Fook's gold shop to compete, and the price is very reasonable." A Tong's speech was a bit clumsy, but she won the trust in everyone's argument. In this way, the businessman looked at the honest A Tong, followed him to Chow Tai Fook and started a new career. Later, Zhou Zhiyuan found that A Tong was very talented in this field, so he continued to send him to develop this work. Only half a year later, Zhou Zhiyuan promoted Zheng Yutong to be an apprentice in the gold business.
At that time, due to the fall of Guangzhou and Hong Kong, many gold shops moved to Macau, almost everywhere, and the competition was fierce. Zheng Yutong seems to be naturally fond of gold and jewels. He was very interested in doing jewelry business, and soon mastered the essentials of sitting in the store marketing, and became obsessed with it.
He often uses his commute time to see the passing gold shops for comparison. In jargon, this is called "shop-watching". Boss Zhou didn't know that A Tong was so obsessed. In the long run, A Tong was often late for work, which attracted Zhou Zhiyuan's attention. One day, A Tong passed a gold shop at work and found some unique ornaments in the window. I couldn't help but stop and ponder for a long time, which actually delayed my working time. When he got back to the gold shop, the boss had been waiting in the shop for a long time. A Tong knew that he had made a big mistake and explained the reason with trepidation. As a result, the boss didn't blame him, but gave him the privilege of "watching the store". In this way, as long as the business is not busy, he can "see the shop" on the street. According to the rules, it takes three years for an apprentice to become an apprentice in a gold shop, but in less than three years, Zheng Yutong was promoted to be the head of the gold shop, responsible for the daily operation of the pavement.
First manufacturing of 9999 gold
Later, Zheng Yutong learned that his parents and Zhou Zhiyuan, who worked as a waiter in Guangzhou Silk and Satin Villa, were friends in need and were like brothers. Zhou and Zheng's wife were happy at the same time, so the two families agreed that their in-laws should "get married by pointing their fingers." The weather is beautiful, the Zhou family gave birth to a daughter, and Ka married a boy, which happened to be a perfect couple. When I was an apprentice in Chow Tai Fook's gold shop, my father worried that his son would not make progress by pretending to be a "son-in-law" and didn't tell him about it.
Three years later, under your auspices, I really married Zhou's darling. That year, both husband and wife were 18 years old, and they have been respectful to each other for more than 50 years until today.
1946, 2 1 year-old Zheng Yutong established Chow Tai Fook branch in Hongkong. He traveled all over the gold and silver jewelry stores in Hong Kong, and used their strengths to lead the operation of the branch, making the branch business promising. However, Zheng Yutong was not satisfied. He soberly thought, "Leaving the business in the mall is tantamount to losing the business. Only by continuous innovation can we seek development. " . Therefore, he changed the original capital structure model and invited his colleagues to form Chow Tai Fook Jewelry & Gold Co., Ltd., which is also a gold jewelry in Hong Kong.
The earliest limited company in jewelry industry.
Although Zheng Yutong accepted the old apprenticeship education model in Gimpo, he was not conservative, even ahead of modern business philosophy. Under the guidance of his brand-new concept, "Chow Tai Fook Jewelry and Gold Co., Ltd." is no longer unique to the president, but a modern enterprise with assets, risks and benefits. In his way of thinking, his unique insight was praised by all his colleagues.
At that time, in Hong Kong, gold shops were everywhere and the competition was fierce. At that time, the fineness of gold was always 999 gold, but Zheng Yutong boldly invested money to create 9999 gold, which created a new technology of gold jewelry manufacturing and also led a new trend in the field of consumption. This feat laid a solid economic foundation for Chow Tai Fook's future development. Zheng Yutong keeps forging ahead and exploring new markets. In just a few years, the number of branches of Chow Tai Fook has increased to 1 1. Some people say that he made a fortune by luck. Zheng Yutong said: "Hong Kong is a place full of infinite opportunities and challenges. Opportunities are equal for everyone, and facing challenges is inevitable for everyone. The key is how to identify and whether you are psychologically prepared. "
When Zheng Yutong pushed Chow Tai Fook to a new height, he began to enter new fields.
Turn your eyes to the diamond industry.
Zheng Yutong has strong market control ability. In Hongkong, Zheng Yutong enjoys the reputation of "King of Jewelry", which refers not only to his gold ornaments, but also to the diamond industry that later brought him into the world jewelry forest. Zheng Yutong is very concerned about the fashion style of international jewelry. In his observation, he found that many western ladies with great status like to wear diamond jewelry and gold jewelry, and gold jewelry is no longer valued by them. After reaching this conclusion, he began to turn his attention to the diamond industry.
According to international regulations, you can only buy diamonds with a "De Beers" license, and there are only 500 such licenses in the world. It is this "De Beers" license that scares away a large number of watchmakers. Some insiders said: "It is more difficult to buy diamonds from De Beers than to pick stars from the sky".
Zheng Yutong did not retreat because of this. He racked his brains and came up with an idea. He decided to buy a company with a "De Beers" license in South Africa. Not only did he successfully obtain a license from De Beers, but by the 1970s, Zheng Yutong had become the largest diamond importer in Hong Kong, accounting for about 30% of the total diamond imports in Hong Kong every year. In fact, Zheng Yutong's achievements in developing the diamond industry have played an unprecedented revolutionary role in guiding the local jewelry industry to challenge tradition and seek development.
Mr. Zheng Yutong is 76 years old, and he started Chow Tai Fook's entrepreneurial history. Every page has his 60-year-old struggle footprint:
In the early 1960s, holding gold in one hand and diamonds in the other was a shoo-in.
In 1970s, Hong Kong New World Center was built. This magnificent building is still a landmark in Tsim Sha Tsui. In the 1980s. The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, built in cooperation with the Hong Kong Trade Bureau, ranks among the best of its kind in Asia.
In 1990s, he took the lead in marching into Chinese mainland and devoted himself to the construction of the motherland. In addition, it also acquired the equity of ATV, established the largest hotel group in Hong Kong, and acquired 28 overseas hotels of stouffer Group in the United States and 9 hotels of penta Group in Europe.
Over the years, Zheng Yutong's achievements have become a much-told story. He proved that "sincerity" and "diligence" are the undefeated criteria of success with his practical actions of 60 years' hard struggle.