Home Inns Doubled from Debut
By stlplace on Jan 26, 2007 in Stocks, China
It’s about $44 now. Today IBD published an article about Home Inns. The author’s view is a little too optimistic: as I understand serious domestic competitor includes motel168, besides the Jinjiang Inn. I noticed Jinjiang Inn also offers free broad band Internet now, as this was a key differentiator for Home Inn/Ru Jia in the past. Super 8, the US motel Chain, is also expanding very aggressively in China.
“In addition to the 134 hotels it has open, Home Inns says 48 more are under contract — 28 of which it will lease and operate, with the remaining 20 franchised.” It’s not just the number of hotels, the thing matters is the number of leased and operated hotels.
PS, I am wary of the analogy to “starbucks”. How many companies/people tried to be next Microsoft/Bill Gates? Only one succeeded (Google). Or you can count Apple if you like. Very limited…
Oceanid | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
Hey dreaming big is good.
Maybe there are many people aspiring to become a budget hotel chain manager too?
I admire the guy who invented the light bulb though. What’s his name? Gosh….I am drawing a blank.
stlplace | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
Edison. I believe He founded General Electric. Yes I agree “dream big” is important for entreprenurs. But for investors I think “reality check” is also very important from time to time…
Oceanid | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
The first electric light was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, an English scientist. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light. This is called an electric arc.
Much later, in 1860, the English physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) was determined to devise a practical, long-lasting electric light. He found that a carbon paper filament worked well, but burned up quickly. In 1878, he demonstrated his new electric lamps in Newcastle, England.
In 1877, the American Charles Francis Brush manufactured some carbon arcs to light a public square in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. These arcs were used on a few streets, in a few large office buildings, and even some stores. Electric lights were only used by a few people.
The inventor Thomas Alva Edison (in the USA) experimented with thousands of different filaments to find just the right materials to glow well and be long-lasting. In 1879, Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for 40 hours. Edison eventually produced a bulb that could glow for over 1500 hours.
Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) improved the bulb by inventing a carbon filament (patented in 1881); Latimer was a member of Edison’s research team, which was called “Edison’s Pioneers.” In 1882, Latimer developed and patented a method of manufacturing his carbon filaments.
In 1903, Willis R. Whitney invented a treatment for the filament so that it wouldn’t darken the inside of the bulb as it glowed. In 1910, William David Coolidge (1873-1975) invented a tungsten filament which lasted even longer than the older filaments. The incandescent bulb revolutionized the world.
Oceanid | Jan 26, 2007 | Reply
I thought you touched on an interesting topic.
Maintaining a good balance of knowing what one can do and what one CAN’T do is key. The latter is often neglected though.
Now, I remember reading a book that talks about that people have a tendency of believing what they are capable of doing based on their own rosy beliefs. So they are capable of being somewhat cynical or at least doubtful of others’ achievements.
On the other hand, others perceive what they are really capable of on what they have done/achieved. In other words, actions speak louder than words.
In reality, one needs to have both confidence and humility. They complement each other. That’s my belief too.