Franchise God - Chapter 48



Only Krnovel

Franchise God Episode 048

Chapter 9: Am I running because I’m frustrated? (3)

The momentum of the Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen was extraordinary.

The moment the product arrived at the mart, it started selling like hotcakes.

Each mart and convenience store across the country did not have the luxury of stockpiling the product. It was literally selling out as soon as it was put on display.

In places like convenience stores, it was not uncommon for employees or managers to buy products with their own money.

This is because it was difficult to obtain the quantity on the market.

Thanks to this, Prime Company’s ramen production plant (formerly JM Foods Plant) was running at a breakneck pace.

“Manager, there’s a problem on line 1.”

“What? Why, why does this always happen when there’s a problem? Can’t you see that everyone is so busy?”

“I, I didn’t cause the problem.”

“I know. I’m talking to line 1.”

The factory manager suppressed his irritation as he spoke about the production line as if it were a person.

Now the entire factory line was running without stopping.

Even at night, all lines were running nonstop 24 hours a day.

Even if you work hard, it is difficult to meet the demand.

“Boss, I’m glad that this is selling well, but isn’t our company losing money every time it sells? The Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen is currently being sold on the market for a thousand won.”

“The price of mushrooms alone will be close to ten thousand won. How are you going to make a loss by selling them like this?”

“I really can’t understand what the bosses are thinking.”

The factory manager was not much different from the production workers.

Knowing how expensive the yellow truffle mushrooms are, I had mixed feelings every time I saw the ramen being made.

‘You don’t think they’re going to take control of the market first and then raise prices later, do you?’

Consumers aren’t stupid, and they’ll turn away from your product the moment you start charging them your price.

It’s not that other ramen companies are stupid and haven’t tried that strategy before.

“It’s not our fault. We just have to keep the factory production line running smoothly.”

“That’s true, but… I’m worried that if things continue like this, the company will go bankrupt in less than a year.”

“I know our company has a lot of initial capital, but you don’t think we’re going to recklessly blow money on that, do you?”

“That might be the case, since the bosses have no experience in the ramen market.”

“That won’t do. I was going to move to JM Foods but I stayed here because of the salary increase, so if my job disappears like this….”

“This is a big deal. I still have a lot of loans left and my oldest is going to college this year…….”

As the Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen became a craze, the factory workers’ worries also deepened.

* * *

“If you sell them at that price, how much loss per unit are you going to make?”

“Let’s see. If we look at the expected operating profit… roughly, we can see that we make 60 won per unit sold.”

Jeong Seo-hee organized the financial charts and explained them, and Jeon Seong-ryeol listened with sparkling eyes.

Ha Soo-young was listening to Jeong Seo-hee’s briefing with a calm expression.

He seemed indifferent, like a kindergarten student on a field trip to a museum.

“How many have you sold so far?”

“We’ve sold over 24 million units in the past two weeks.”

“Then, if we estimate it to be roughly 25 million, the remaining profit for us is…….”

“It would be around 1.5 billion won.”

“Vice President, is it true that the factory operating expenses, sales expenses, promotional expenses, labor expenses, and other expenses are all restricted?”

“Yes, sir. That’s right.”

“A profit of 1.5 billion won in just two weeks…”

If things continue like this, we will be making operating profits of 3 billion won per month and 36 billion won per year.

Jeong Seo-hee also spoke with a little excitement.

“The momentum is really picking up now. If we continue like this, it won’t be a big deal to exceed 50 billion won in annual operating profit.”

“Let’s see. If the annual operating profit is 50 billion won, then the sales are…”

“About 833.3 billion won.”

“Wow, if we just do a little more, we’ll hit 1 trillion?”

“This year is already quite late, so it’s difficult, but I think we can definitely exceed 1 trillion won next year. Of course, that’s with just one Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen.”

It was a surprising figure considering only one single item, ramen.

Even Taeyangsim’s Yun Ramen, a powerhouse in the existing ramen market, has never achieved annual sales of 500 billion won with a single product.

“Would you be okay with 1 trillion won in sales?”

Ha Su-yeong, who had been listening silently, finally opened her mouth, and the two presidents and vice presidents turned their heads at the same time.

“Vice President Jeong.”

“Yes, sir.”

Currently, Jeong Seo-hee is serving as Vice President at Prime Company, so Ha Su-young is now calling her Vice President.

“What was the total sales of the ramen market in our country last year?”

“It’s 2 trillion 147.4 billion won. This is the total sales of all ramen sold in the country.”

“Even if we hit 1 trillion, it won’t even reach 50% of the market share. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“I hope that our Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen will take over 95% of the domestic market. I want to create a market where people won’t touch any other ramen besides our Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen. What do you two think?”

“…….”

“You don’t think that’s too far-fetched, do you?”

Jeon Seong-ryeol found it difficult to readily agree.

However, I thought that it would be realistically impossible to control 90% of the market.

Since food is something that people have different tastes, isn’t it difficult to have variety?

“I think it’s quite possible.”

As Jeong Seo-hee immediately agreed, Jeon Seong-ryeol looked at the two of them in a slightly embarrassed manner.

Am I the only one here thinking something different?

“It’s ramen that is sold with mushrooms that cost ten thousand won if you buy it at the market.

In terms of taste and composition, it is no match for other ramen. There are almost no consumers who would buy other ramen because of this.”

“Sometimes I miss the taste of the ramen I used to eat, so I might buy one and eat it.”

“Yes, and if you only eat our ramen and then try something else, you’ll realize how great our ramen is. Other companies’ products will only serve to increase your loyalty to our Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen.”

“Let’s become the Intel of the domestic ramen market. Since Yun Ramen has a tradition, let’s leave it to AMD.”

“But AMD is doing better these days.”

“Oh, really? When did it change like that again?”

“Sister Gotsa Su is doing a great job.”

“Well, what if it’s Intel or AMD? Anyway, let’s become the one and only dinosaur in the ramen market.”

Ha Soo-young and Jeong Seo-hee were having a great time chatting amicably, while Jeon Seong-ryeol was struggling to keep up with the flow.

“Since the success of the Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen is almost certain, we should now start to fully form a new product research and development team.”

“The Vice President should take care of that. Last time I saw you, you had quite a few connections in the food industry.”

“Yes, I already have a few people I’m planning on bringing over, so I’ll be able to get the range together in no time.”

“As you know, we are not only going to make and sell ramen. Our vision is to grow into a comprehensive food company. We need to keep that in mind as we build our research and development staff.”

“Yes, I know.”

Jeong Seo-hee answered with a serious expression.

Jeon Seong-ryeol felt good just listening to it. He was a little worried, but the company was running more smoothly than he expected.

“Sales of other companies’ ramen must have decreased, right?”

“That’s what they said. In the case of Yun Ramen, they say sales fell by more than 40%.”

“Oh, if Yun Ramen is that good, then other ramens are worthless.”

Taeyangsim’s Yun Ramen is a symbol of the domestic ramen market.

It has been an absolute powerhouse that has never given up the number one spot since its release.

If sales of Yun Ramen fell by more than 40%, other ramens would have been hit even harder.

“Then they will be keeping an eye on us.”

“Yes, that’s right. But I don’t think there’s much anxiety or a lot of fuss about finding countermeasures.”

“No, why?”

Ha Su-yeong asked back in absurdity.

Right now, an absolute powerhouse called Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen is disrupting the market, but the existing vested interest competitors are giving up?

Jeong Seo-hee smiled bashfully as if she understood his feelings.

“Everyone thinks we’re selling at a loss.”

“Selling at a loss… What are you talking about? No, where in the world is there a merchant who sells at a loss?”

“But it’s true.”

Jeong Seo-hee smiled as she told us what she had found out about the competing companies.

“Not only Taeyangsim, but the Big 3 ramen companies are not that different now. I think that since we are a new company, we are trying very hard in the beginning to dominate the market.”

“Early crowd?”

“Yes, they think they are selling ramen while taking a loss. They predict that after they build up awareness, they will raise the price again. Then, consumers will turn away, and they think that in the end, they will suffer a lot of losses and go bankrupt.”

“omg.”

Ha Soo-young stuck out her tongue in earnest.

“No, but is that the only way of thinking for companies with sales of hundreds of billions of won? I don’t understand.”

“I guess we looked kind of funny.”

“How stupid do you think we are to think that we would resort to such a ridiculous strategy?”

“They let their guard down because it’s a new company. They also know that JM Foods acquired the old factory. I think they think that was an unnecessary investment.”

From the perspective of the Big 3, properties like the JM Foods old factory were a difficult obstacle to dispose of or manage.

The very act of taking over such a factory had already created a prejudice in them.

“We just acquired it to start the business as soon as possible, but you’re interpreting it that way.”

“People tend to see only what they want to see. This tendency is especially severe in successful large corporations. JM Foods is not much different.”

Jeong Seo-hee continued speaking, giggling.

“CEO Jeong Jae-min doesn’t even know that executives from competing companies are spying on his company. And they do it every night at the dinner table.”

“What is that… Ah!”

Jeon Seong-ryeol, who had been wondering, laughed out loud when he remembered that Jeong Jae-min was the owner of JM Foods and Jeong Seo-hee’s father.

Ha Soo-young said with a laugh.

“It’s absurd and a little humiliating that they seem to think of us as money idiots who can’t do math… but there’s one good thing about it.”

“The good thing? What is that?”

“There won’t be any immediate restraint, right? Right now, we’re probably thinking that we’re losing money on every sale, right? So the more we sell, the happier our competitors will be, even if their sales decrease.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I find it more fun to watch my competitors fall than to see myself do well. That’s just human nature.”