America 1919-Chapter 721 - : 248, The battle is in full swing
Chapter 721: 248, The battle is in full swing
James Cuff’s words were far from polite.
But he had to secure a promise from John Hardford. The outcome of this promotional war was still unclear, and betting at this time was too risky, so James Cuff needed John Hardford’s assurance.
It was then that John Hardford played his final trump card.
“You don’t need to worry about that, James, I’m still the president of A&P!” John Hardford first gave James Cuff an assurance, then continued.
“If at this time, A&P could complete a share swap with Kraft Foods, then you, James, would also become a shareholder of A&P. Together, with my allies on the board, A&P would become the strongest support for Kraft Foods!”
James Cuff could no longer sit still, he hadn’t thought that things could take such a turn, becoming a shareholder of A&P was undoubtedly a very worthy endeavor for James Cuff.
...
No matter the outcome of this promotional war, even if Apollo Chain won, A&P would likely not be fundamentally harmed. With A&P’s size, it still remained the largest chain convenience store in the United States.
With A&P vouching for Kraft Foods, surpassing the Grain Empire Food Company was also a possibility!
James Cuff thought excitedly!
No, that’s not right!
A warning suddenly surged in James Cuff’s mind. First of all, there was something in this situation that had to be made clear: when A&P and Kraft Foods were placed side by side, everyone knew that A&P was far stronger than Kraft Foods, but now John Hardford was actually inviting him to become a shareholder of A&P.
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In this world, no businessman would willingly give up their interests to someone else!
Why then would John Hardford, called the foremost person in contemporary American retail and the president of A&P, do such a thing?
This question did not linger for long in James Cuff’s mind, as he soon understood why John Hardford was doing this.
“It seems that John Hardford isn’t having an easy time at A&P!”
Understanding John Hardford’s current situation at A&P, James Cuff had nothing to worry about. For Kraft Foods to enter A&P as shareholders and directors was an entirely beneficial proposition without any downsides, and James Cuff saw no reason to refuse the suggestion.
As for John Hardford’s situation at A&P, as long as their interests were aligned at the moment, James Cuff didn’t mind standing with John Hardford.
After the promotional war, if the interests of Kraft Foods and John Hardford diverged, it was natural to consider the interests of his own company.
After these considerations, James Cuff accepted John Hardford’s invitation.
Although he knew that James Cuff would certainly agree, John Hardford was still very happy when he heard the words of agreement from James Cuff.
Next, the two discussed the matter of the share swap.
Although Kraft Foods was now the second-largest food company in the United States, its scale and capital were still far from reaching that of A&P, the nation’s number one convenience store chain.
The shares swapped wouldn’t be many, but this would still require James Cuff to come up with a portion of cash to match A&P’s shares.
Also, after getting James Cuff’s agreement, John Hardford still needed to persuade A&P’s board to accept James Cuff and for all members to dilute the same proportion of shares to sell to him.
This was a very tedious matter.
So when this was all settled, it was already the time for Apollo Chain’s second draw.
In these three days, the United States retail market was full of unpredicted changes. Apollo Chain monopolized all consumer spending near their store locations with their crazy promotional activities.
Under such circumstances, the sales performance of A&P dropped dramatically.
Their cash flow pressures began to stress the A&P board and executives.
What made the members of the A&P board unsatisfied was another matter. As A&P’s performance declined, its stock price also began to fall.
When the stock price started dropping, A&P’s shareholders couldn’t accept it. In fact, this was why they agreed to the share swap with Kraft Foods.
At the very least, this move could stimulate the stock market and raise A&P’s share price.
Moreover, with Kraft Foods’ investment, James Cuff chose to side with John Hardford, and so A&P officially announced that they would increase their promotional efforts.
Donnie in Kansas City also received these two pieces of news immediately.
“A&P is indeed cunning. They waited until we had burned through some capital before they announced they were increasing their promotional efforts. Too sneaky!” Dustbog said angrily.
Helen shook her head, “I always feel there’s something else going on here. A&P has practically lost its position over the past seven days. Increasing promotional efforts now means their previous losses were in vain, and even if they intended to deplete our funds, it shouldn’t have been done like this, because their earlier performance for seven days has been useless!”
Duster then had an epiphany, and asked confusedly, “So what were they doing in the first seven days?”
