In the hit drama "Flowers" at the beginning of 2024, the uncle played by Mr. You Benchang is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and every line of his is like a shocking awakening words, such as this one:
"Doing business is not about who makes more money, but about who lives long."
This sentence is not difficult to understand, but very few people actually do it. If Wanda's Wang Jianlin watched this "Flowers", he would probably sigh, "Those who know me, my uncle too."
As early as 2015, the real estate industry was in full swing, and many companies sharpened their heads and squeezed in, and Wanda, which was already the leader in the industry, was transformed into asset-light under the leadership of Wang Jianlin.
At that time, many people questioned that Wang Jianlin would not do business, and now, some radical enterprises are in crisis, Wanda stood on the safe shore early, and Wang Jianlin smiled at the situation.
The trees want to be quiet and the wind does not stop, and during this time, the attention of the outside world to Wanda and Wang Jianlin has come and gone like a roller coaster. Since the beginning of the year, "Wang Jianlin has continuously sold Wanda Plaza" and other topics have continued; then, "Wanda has received 60 billion investment" The news has appeared on the hot search list of major platforms; recently, "Wanda will sell its Beijing headquarters" has sparked heated discussions again, and some netizens ridiculed "The ruthless Wang Jianlin is ruthless and even sells the headquarters!".
Behind Wanda's series of big moves, what is Wang Jianlin's calculations? In fact, there are no secrets and special features, which can be explained in eight words: strategic determination, consistency.
In 2015, Wanda proposed an asset-light strategy. In the past 8 years, Wanda has undoubtedly implemented this strategy. It embodies Wanda's long-term thinking.
For example, the transfer of the Beijing CBD Wanda project is also part of Wanda's asset-light strategy. It is understood that Wanda's Beijing headquarters will also work here in the future, and the project will still be managed and served by Wanda in the future, and the Wanda brand will be retained.
Wanda Plaza's heavy assets are sold, and the operation and management are stayed, which is the underlying logic of Wanda's asset-light model.
The "asset-heavy" model makes it easy for enterprises to be burdened by debt, while the "asset-light" model can effectively avoid debt risks and allow Wanda to develop "steadily and quickly".
Judging from a series of business data, Wanda has lived beyond what his uncle hoped, not only "making more money", but also laying the foundation for "living long".
Wanda "slimming"
Wanda is a leading business management company, and its every move is observed by the outside world with a magnifying glass, which inevitably leads to various interpretations.
For example, some people believe that Wanda may be short of cash, and describe the sale of assets as "cutting meat". Extending the cycle to observe the business logic of Wanda Commercial Management shows that the term "cutting meat" is not accurate, and Wanda is continuing to "slim down".
Wanda's "slimming" began in 2015 with the transformation of young assets, Wang Jianlin said: "Wanda has reached the time to make money by relying on brands". Making money by brand is the highest level of doing business.
At the end of October 2014, the 100th Wanda Plaza in the country opened in Kunming, Wang Jianlin said at the ceremony: this marks Wanda Plaza has become a brand with world influence, "Wanda Plaza is the city center" is no longer a slogan.
Wanda Plaza has gone through 12 years from the first to the 100th, and Wanda's excellent operating strength and brand influence have been repeatedly verified by the market. For example, the occupancy rate and rent collection rate of Wanda Plaza have been above 99% for a long time. With such data, it is not too much to say that it is "far ahead".
So, how does Wanda make money from brands? There are two main aspects:
On the one hand, for most of the new projects, Wanda does not provide investment funds for the project, but only exports the brand, and is responsible for the design, construction and operation, and shares the benefits.
On the other hand, Wanda sold its original "heavy assets" to retain Wanda's brand and manage and provide services. Through "one sale and one stay", make yourself "lighter" and achieve the purpose of "slimming".
Wang Jianlin set a strategy, and Wanda maintained its determination to implement it.
For example, not long ago, Shanghai Jinshan Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd. underwent a change in equity, and its major shareholder was changed from "Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd." to "Suzhou Lianshang No. 2 Commercial Management Co., Ltd." Now, when the market conditions are ripe, Wanda has continuously transferred its projects at a high point and continued to "slim down".
After Wanda sells its assets, it will not be "separated from each other, and each will be happy", and these assets will continue to be managed and serviced by Wanda to retain the Wanda brand.
After acquiring the assets, the transaction party handed over the brand and operation to Wanda, and acted as the "shopkeeper", is this a high affirmation of the growth potential of Wanda Plaza? Is it a high recognition of Wanda's management ability?
In recent years, whenever Wanda has made a major move, it is not immune to doubts. Looking at it for a long time, Wang Jianlin's business thinking and strategic determination are beyond imagination.
"Light boat" on the tuyere
In "Flowers", Uncle Bao said, "The weather will not always be good, and people will not always have the upper hand." "In the commercial market, it's important to stay motivated, and it's equally important to be sober and proactive.
The real estate industry is rushing into the sand, and many radical enterprises are walking heavily and falling into the debt quagmire, while Wanda's asset-light transformation is like a "light boat" shuttling through the mountains.
According to public data, in 2003, the first Wanda Plaza opened, and in 2014, Wanda Plaza ushered in the era of 100 stores. In 2019, the 300th Wanda Plaza opened. In 2021, the 400th Wanda Plaza opened. At the beginning of 2024, the number of Wanda Plazas will reach 498.
From 1 to 100, Wanda has gone from 1 to 100 in 12 years, and from 100 to nearly 500, Wanda has taken only 9 years.
What's more noteworthy is that Wanda's practice of commercial asset-light operation has become an industry consensus from the initial incomprehension, which can be described as "the world is incomparably open for a while". In addition to Wanda, powerful players such as Longfor Commercial, Xincheng Holdings, China Resources Vientiane Life, and Joy City are vying to enter the game.
For example, Longfor Commercial launched the "light and heavy" strategy at the beginning of 2021, and according to Longfor's public information, there may be 6 asset-light and 5 asset-heavy projects in 2023. In 2023, Seazen Holdings will open a total of 22 Wuyue Plazas, including 14 self-owned projects and 8 managed projects.
CR Vientiane Life also plans to open 150 shopping malls by 2025, of which at least 50 will be expanded by third parties.
Looking at Wanda's report card, 28 Wanda Plazas will open in 2023, of which 26 are asset-light projects. Whether it is the total number or the proportion of asset-light projects, Wanda is the leader among its peers.
It can be said that as soon as Wang Jianlin turned around, he once again brought a group of followers.
Wanda, which is the leader among a group of powerful players, is like a "hexagonal warrior", with a good brand reputation, profound operation and management experience, rich third-party business development capabilities, leading scientific and technological capabilities, and professional talent reserves.
At present, Wanda has formed a positive cycle of "strong brand output and management capabilities, high-level occupancy rate, increase in the number of cooperative merchants, and attracting more cooperative merchants to promote performance growth".
According to Frost & Sullivan, as of the end of 2022, Wanda Commercial Management ranked first in the world in terms of floor area under management. From 2020 to 2022, the average occupancy rate of Wanda Commercial Management's commercial plazas under management was 98.6%.
With the advancement of the asset-light strategy, Wanda Commercial Management's financial data has performed well and brought rich returns to shareholders.
According to public data, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management (the main operator of Wanda Plaza) will have an after-tax income (estimated) of 29.3 billion yuan in 2023, an average annual growth rate of about 12% in the past three years, and an after-tax profit (estimated) of 9.5 billion yuan, an average growth rate of 34% in the past three years. In the past three years, the company has paid dividends of $4.6 billion to shareholders in 2021, $6.7 billion in 2022 and $8.5 billion in 2023 (estimated).
Recently, Wanda was able to obtain 60 billion yuan of investment from investors such as PAG and CITIC Capital, which once again confirmed this. Huang Dewei, Partner of PAG Investment Group and President of PAG China, said in an interview with media reporters: "The reason why we are firmly optimistic about Wanda is that since we invested in Wanda in August 2021, Wanda has not only exceeded its performance target for three consecutive years, but also achieved continuous dividends to shareholders, with dividends reaching 8.8 billion yuan in 2023. ”
Judging from a series of data, Wanda's operating efficiency has been continuously improved. Recently, Wanda has sold assets one after another, focusing more on improving its commercial asset-light operation and management capabilities, which will help improve the return on assets, and Wanda will also gain more sustainable growth power.
The apes on both sides of the strait could not stop crying, and the light boat had already crossed the ten thousand mountains. How wide is Wanda's road to commercial asset-light? Uncle said that today's sun can't shine tomorrow's clothes. Time is everything.