Fosun: Why Wolves? - and the plan going forward

[Leigh Griffiths' Hairline]

A few of my thoughts on why Fosun have invested in Wolves, and how they plan to make us commercially successful

1. History. Wolves have a rich history, being one of the founder members of the football league, and also one of the most successful clubs in English football historically. We may not have done much in the last 30 years or so, but we are probably on a par with where Man City were when they were bought by their billionaire owners.

2. Fanbase: We have a good die-hard fanbase and a decent take-up of season ticket holders. In addition to this, there is a huge untapped resource of Wolves fans who would be more likely to attend with some successful football. We only have to look back to Cardiff in 2003 when over 100,000 lined the streets of Wolverhampton for the open bus tour. In addition to this, we also have a decent (but small) committed fanbase abroad, notably in Scandinavia and Ireland, and to a lesser extent in the USA.

3. Symbolism: We have an excellent brand. Our colours and our name are unique and very strong. We also have an excellent motto, which is not unlike a Chinese proverb. It sounds very cliche'd, however Chinese culture is very big on symbolism, and I feel this will definitely made us more attractive, leading us on to...

4. Marketability: In China, specifically. For the above reason essentially we are very marketable. There is a relatively untapped resource of a billion or so people in China that we can attract as fans. Promote the Wolves brand in the ways I have outlined in the last few points, and our overseas revenue could quickly dwarf the amount of money we make at home. And with Fosun being one of China's largest companies, we are very well positioned to exploit this. Plastic fans? Bring them on.

5. Room for Growth: Jeff Shi outlined this nicely in his press conference. We have a stable base, with excellent facilities already. But there is clear room for growth. Compton is an excellent training ground, with plenty of space to expand further if required. The stadium is good, and there are already plans to expand to 50,000 if needed, and I can't see us needing a much bigger stadium than this for a very long time.

Very exciting times. Done well, we could go on to be one of the best supported clubs in the most populous country in the world, which would only improve our success here at home.

I appreciate there is a lot of stating the obvious here, but I'm bored with little to do at work and I wanted to summarise my thoughts

 

[From Distant Shores]

I think it is mistaken to think that Fosun investment in Wolves is independent of their other investments. They may wish to promote Wolves strongly, both in China and Europe, as a platform for cross-selling their other brands, such as Club Med.

They might well be happy to invest in Wolves if they feel that will generate enough sales in the rest of the group. On the other hand, their corporate philosophy may be that every business they own must pay its own way. Time will tell. In the short term we can be pretty certain we are going to see some much welcome investment.

 

[Norman Deeley]

I've said this elsewhere, but Fosun will invest - and pay over the odds in Western eyes - because they see the huge potential in China. So [3] and [4] are probably spot on. Clearly that depends on success at home, but as Ibra recently said, "My shirt sales will pay for Pogba." With a billion Chinese kids potentially wearing Wolves shirts, £20m on Talisca doesn't look that expensive...

 

[The Saturday Boy]

I think it is mistaken to think that Fosun investment in Wolves is independent of their other investments. They may wish to promote Wolves strongly, both in China and Europe, as a platform for cross-selling their other brands, such as Club Med.

They might well be happy to invest in Wolves if they feel that will generate enough sales in the rest of the group. On the other hand, their corporate philosophy may be that every business they own must pay its own way. Time will tell. In the short term we can be pretty certain we are going to see some much welcome investment.

This article outlines their investment strategy. Wolves are part of their global acquisitions which are about creating elite businesses with global partnerships (this is where Mendes comes in probably).

 

[Tredman]

This article outlines their investment strategy. Wolves are part of their global acquisitions which are about creating elite businesses with global partnerships (this is where Mendes comes in probably).

'Elite businesses with global partnerships' is standard business BS. No one is actually going to say we don't care about quality business or working with others - we just want to make shed loads of cash.

 

[jlo]

A few of my thoughts on why Fosun have invested in Wolves, and how they plan to make us commercially successful

1. History. Wolves have a rich history, being one of the founder members of the football league, and also one of the most successful clubs in English football historically. We may not have done much in the last 30 years or so, but we are probably on a par with where Man City were when they were bought by their billionaire owners.

2. Fanbase: We have a good die-hard fanbase and a decent take-up of season ticket holders. In addition to this, there is a huge untapped resource of Wolves fans who would be more likely to attend with some successful football. We only have to look back to Cardiff in 2003 when over 100,000 lined the streets of Wolverhampton for the open bus tour. In addition to this, we also have a decent (but small) committed fanbase abroad, notably in Scandinavia and Ireland, and to a lesser extent in the USA.

3. Symbolism: We have an excellent brand. Our colours and our name are unique and very strong. We also have an excellent motto, which is not unlike a Chinese proverb. It sounds very cliche'd, however Chinese culture is very big on symbolism, and I feel this will definitely made us more attractive, leading us on to...

4. Marketability: In China, specifically. For the above reason essentially we are very marketable. There is a relatively untapped resource of a billion or so people in China that we can attract as fans. Promote the Wolves brand in the ways I have outlined in the last few points, and our overseas revenue could quickly dwarf the amount of money we make at home. And with Fosun being one of China's largest companies, we are very well positioned to exploit this. Plastic fans? Bring them on.

5. Room for Growth: Jeff Shi outlined this nicely in his press conference. We have a stable base, with excellent facilities already. But there is clear room for growth. Compton is an excellent training ground, with plenty of space to expand further if required. The stadium is good, and there are already plans to expand to 50,000 if needed, and I can't see us needing a much bigger stadium than this for a very long time.

Very exciting times. Done well, we could go on to be one of the best supported clubs in the most populous country in the world, which would only improve our success here at home.

I appreciate there is a lot of stating the obvious here, but I'm bored with little to do at work and I wanted to summarise my thoughts

I'm not sure they care too much for our current fan base, but otherwise I think you've outlined quite well that this is an investment, and a good investment at that for any company in their position. And we can't kid ourselves, they did have other options. I think the question "why Wolves?" is exactly the point - marketability and room for growth probably tops the list, the others just slide into those two.

 

[visage]

Interesting article here - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...44f2&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

All makes it sound dodgy as fuck, even if technically legal.

 

[Del Woppio]

It is dodgy as fuck, and always has been. We've had access to players that we shouldn't have, and we're kidding ourselves if we think uncle Jorge isn't profiting, regardless of who the nominated agency is.

Ultimately as long as they keep identifying the young talent before they sell the current talent, we're ok

 

[Deleted Cyber]

Interesting article here - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...44f2&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

All makes it sound dodgy as fuck, even if technically legal.

I prefer a calculated strategic approach to maximise profitability , opportunity and take advantage of the rules as they currently stand. Actually, if true its genius.

Some one has analysed football and decided the best way to make money then built a whole strategy backed by millions to implement it. Business model 101!

If Neves goes for 100m you can link that directly to this strategy!

 

[Deleted Cyber]

If you really want to be harsh it means that wolves will be the bridesmaid never the bride as the young hungry talent we identify, buy , play and then sell for a profit will not be here for ever or long enough to build the entire team around. So maybe thats why we have a wolves system and then we recruit players into it? I dont know just guessing, just trying to put flesh on the theory. Its still to early days. But so far for Fosun , their investors and for Mendes its worked a charm. And as fan I am happy with the model if it brings us more years like 2018.

It has also pissed the fuck off Villa and Leeds amongst others. Never a bad thing.

 

[visage]

Yeah, the concern is that we'll never buy players at their peak, as they wont appreciate in value.

Up and coming starlets have seen us do fantastically well so far, but what happens if we take the next step up to becoming an established top half team with aspiration of CL football? Will Fosun sanction spunking the thick end of 100m on a superstar to acheive that?

 

[Tony Towner]

That depends on whàt their true footballing ambition is. If it's milking the PL money and potentially making the odd Europa then that's achievable along similar lines to now, but the EL isn't particularly financially beneficial. If it's the CL and the riches it brings then the odd finished or very nearly finished article will be required

 

[visage]

Obviously its a nice discussion to be having...

 

[Penk Wolf]

I think the pot of gold that is the Champions League and World domination will make it worth spending the £100m on superstars.

 

[Johnny75]

Yeah, the concern is that we'll never buy players at their peak, as they wont appreciate in value.

Up and coming starlets have seen us do fantastically well so far, but what happens if we take the next step up to becoming an established top half team with aspiration of CL football? Will Fosun sanction spunking the thick end of 100m on a superstar to acheive that?

I think the model is Dortumnd who are doing fantastically by buying youth and selling on for decent money.

 

[big mean bunny]

Monaco too. Look at Moutiniho though to see how there is still a football strategy in place. Having established players like him obviously help the others. Just an example but imagine a signing like Pedro. Going to have limited resale value and high wages, but would potentially inflat the value of the other players if he came in and performed well the way Moutiniho has or at the level he has still performed for Chelsea's when used.