Franchise God - Chapter 53



Only Krnovel

Franchise God Episode 053

Chapter 11 Why is Mom there? (3)

“Why is our parent company suddenly out there?”

Executive Director Park Jeon-bo asked in bewilderment.

Seohae Foods, strictly speaking, is the parent company of Taeyangsim.

However, the president of Seohae Foods has less influence within the group than the president of Taeyangsim.

The chairman’s family also tends to give more support to the power of the sun.

Seohae Foods is a food company in name only, but it has long since stopped manufacturing and distributing food.

Rather, we tend to focus on work that supports solar energy, such as investment and research and development.

“I don’t know yet. Anyway, I have confirmed that 100 tons of Hwangbi mushrooms were purchased from Seohae Food.”

“Where on earth did you buy 100 tons of this?”

“It’s a place called Seongryeol Distribution.”

“Seongryeol Distribution?”

Executive Director Park Jeon-bo frowned slightly.

It must be a considerable distributor if it handles 100 tons of golden silk umbrella mushrooms, but it’s a name I’ve never heard of.

“Whether it’s Seongryeol or Changryeol, find out quickly!”

“Yes, sir!”

The staff members quickly dispersed, grabbed their phones and computers, and ran to find out about Sungryeol Distribution.

Once some information was gathered, a manager-level employee quickly created a report and went to see Executive Director Park Jeon-bo.

“Sir, this is a report on the investigation into Seongryeol Distribution that you instructed.”

“You know I’m in a hurry right now, right? Please explain it as concisely and as briefly as possible, summarizing only the important points.”

“Yes, it was originally a small distribution company that handled agricultural products with annual sales of about 9 billion won. It is said to be quite old. It is said to be a small business that has been around for over 30 years.”

“To that extent, he must be a seasoned veteran in the distribution industry.”

Considering that he is a self-employed person, this could be considered a great skill.

The fact that he survived for 30 years means that he is no ordinary person.

“Recently, it seems that they have expanded their business considerably, including supplying to Seohae Hotel and Baekdu Hotel. And there is something unique about it.”

“What? Tell me quickly.”

“We are providing a stable supply of out-of-season pine mushrooms to both hotels.”

“Matsutake mushrooms?”

When the story about pine mushrooms suddenly came up, Executive Director Park Jeon-bo widened his eyes in bewilderment.

“Yes, it seems that they used to harvest and supply domestically produced pine mushrooms in large quantities even though it was not the season for them. They are still providing a stable supply, and not long ago, they even received a large order for pine mushrooms from a Japanese company and processed it.”

“Is there some kind of mushroom fairy attached to that distribution company?”

“It is said that Seongryeol Distribution acquired the old factory that JM Foods put up for sale for 4 billion won some time ago.”

“Wait, wasn’t that originally a ramen factory? No way……”

“Yes, the company that was created that way is Prime Company.”

Executive Director Park Jeon-bo jumped up from his chair.

“What? So you’re saying that Seongryeol Distribution is the predecessor of Prime Company?”

“That’s not true, but it is true that they are in the same group. They are still operating as separate corporations.”

“Good! Anyway, isn’t there a mushroom factory attached to Seongryeol Distribution or something? Investigate further. Hurry up!”

After giving his instructions, the name of Seohae Food suddenly crossed Executive Director Park Jeon-bo’s mind.

“No, what on earth was our parent company going to do with the 100 tons of yellow oyster mushrooms that they bought?”

“I’ll look into that too.”

“Okay, I’ll meet with President Seo and ask him about that separately. Anyway, I don’t understand. Why is the name of the parent company suddenly popping up here? And what about the purchase of 100 tons of yellow oyster mushrooms?”

* * *

Executive Director Park Jeon-bo contacted Seo Hae Foods CEO Seo In-mo and made an appointment.

Since it was a call from Executive Director Taeyangsim, Seo Inmo cleared his evening schedule without saying a word.

Park Jeon-bo, sitting across from each other at the meeting place, asked as soon as he finished exchanging brief greetings.

“Sir, I heard you recently purchased 100 tons of golden umbrella mushrooms from Seohae Foods?”

“That’s right. Why do you ask that?”

“Where are you going to use that large quantity of goods?”

The relationship between Seohae Food and Taeyangsim is mysterious.

It is clear that Seohae Foods is the parent company.

Originally, it was the ramen division of Seohae Foods that became independent and separated to become what is now Taeyangsim.

But when you look at the role it actually plays, there are often times when Seohae Foods feels like a department of Taeyangsim.

The group owner also favors Taeyangsim more than Seohae Foods.

After all, it is a company with overwhelming market dominance among its affiliates.

“I bought it because I had a use for it. I was thinking of using it for the ‘Seohae Village’ franchise promotion.”

Seohae Village is a brand that refers to a franchise restaurant operated by Seohae Food.

Although it is not ranked 1st or 2nd, it is still a well-known brand in the restaurant industry.

“I bought it to use in some new menu items that Seohae Village recently developed.”

“How much did you pay to buy 100 tons?”

“Well, I think it was around 10 billion. That’s probably right.”

“Did you buy it from a place called Seongryeol Distribution?”

“I guess so.”

President Seo In-mo recalled his memories of seeing the report.

It was difficult to remember each and every transaction history worth about 10 billion won.

Park Jeon-bo sighed and spoke without being seen.

“Sir, you probably know that the market is in chaos because of the yellow mushrooms this time.”

“Of course. We’re watching with interest, wondering when that company will collapse.”

“It won’t collapse.”

“What? What are you talking about? Selling it at such a huge loss?”

“If we look at it that way, the losses we’ve seen so far would easily amount to 300 to 400 billion won. Mr. President, would there be a new company that would take on that level of losses to dominate the market?”

“…….”

Only then did Seo In-mo flinch.

Since it doesn’t seem to have any direct connection to the ramen market, it seems like it wasn’t investigated in detail.

“Those guys, they’re not selling at a loss right now. They’re selling at a small but clear profit.”

“That’s ridiculous. How much does a yellow oyster mushroom cost?”

“It seems like there is a way to buy Hwangbi mushrooms cheaply from Seongryeol Distribution.”

“Seongryeol Distribution?”

When the story of Seongryeol Distribution suddenly came up, Seo In-mo was momentarily confused, but soon realized the context.

“Was Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen also related to Seongryeol Distribution?”

“To be exact, Prime Company and Seongryeol Distribution were like one family. We found out about it this time.”

Only then did Seo In-mo realize why Park Jeon-bo had been so eager to meet him.

At the same time, the thought of defeat crossed my mind.

Because the purchase of 100 tons of yellow oyster mushrooms for a franchise restaurant promotion caused indirect damage to Taeyangsim.

“This is the current situation. So, sir, please explain it to me as you know.”

“Wait a minute. I’ll call Manager Hong right now.”

Seo In-mo contacted him right away, and soon after, Manager Hong Jin-woo came running.

“Did you call, sir?”

“Please explain to Director Park in detail as much as you know.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chief Hong Jin-woo explained everything he knew to Jeon-bo Park. After listening to the end, Jeon-bo Park’s thoughts were concise.

‘There is no kernel of truth at all.’

The meeting was not at all satisfactory.

“CEO Seo, the ramen market is currently in a huge crisis. If this continues, our Yun Ramen may suffer irreparable damage. But you bought Hwangbi mushrooms from Seongryeol Distribution for 8 billion won… If the chairman finds out about this, there will be chaos.”

When the group owner was mentioned, Seo In-mo’s expression also turned cold.

If Seohae Foods and Taeyangsim start passing the buck to each other, the owner will take Taeyangsim’s side.

“Seohae Foods also needs to help Taeyangsim a lot. After all, it is the parent company.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best to find out.”

“Please take care of me.”

* * *

The momentum of Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen continued to burn without stopping.

Some convenience stores even filled more than 90% of their ramen section with Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen.

However, the Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen was so out of stock that it couldn’t be sold.

It was because the place was overflowing with people who came not for the ramen, but for the mushrooms in the ramen.

Housewives who were not able to use expensive yellow oyster mushrooms freely usually took advantage of this opportunity to vent their frustration by buying ramen noodles in bulk and using the mushrooms inside to cook dinner.

“You don’t need to make something fancy. Just add it to soybean paste stew or kimchi stew and the taste and flavor of the soup will change completely.”

“My kids really liked it, but it was usually expensive so we rarely got to try it.”

“I don’t think it’s too bad to just boil the ramen separately and eat it later without the mushrooms. It’s a little bland, but it’s a real bargain to get this many mushrooms for this price.”

“But does this company make a profit even if it sells like this?”

“Maybe they’re selling it at this price because they have some left over? Where in the world is there a merchant who sells at a loss?”

“Well, that’s true too.”

Rather, in this respect, consumers have seen through it more coolly and accurately than the Big 3 ramen companies.

There is no merchant who sells at a loss.

Without a doubt, isn’t this a simple truth?

* * *

“We need to expand our company.”

Jeong Seo-hee spoke as if declaring something during the meeting.

Jeon Seong-ryeol agreed with that statement, but at the same time, he was worried and asked back.

“Isn’t it too early?”

“It’s early, but it’s already too late. Just look at the company’s sales going up. If you don’t start preparing for expansion now, you won’t be able to prepare for business the year after next.”

“That’s right, sir. A factory can’t be built in a year. At least the factory needs to be expanded from now on.”

The factory manager who attended the management meeting insisted on expanding the factory with a stronger attitude than ever before.

“Even now, we are working 24 hours a day in three shifts to meet the production volume… No, we are not meeting the production volume, we are enduring it.”

“The current quantity is not enough. People are clamoring for products here and there. First, we need to expand the factory.

I don’t think establishing a food development research department is a problem right now.”

“Vice President, how much spare cash do we have now?”

“There is still 20 billion won left from the initial capital. The margin from selling Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen is also around 4 billion won.”

It hasn’t been that long since they started selling ramen and it’s already worth 4 billion.

Jeon Seong-ryeol trembled slightly with an indescribable sense of difference in generations.

“Even if we put aside the establishment of a new office building, I think we should start looking into a second factory right away. The Hwangbi Mushroom Ramen has been a huge success, beyond our expectations.”

“The factory must be built anew. The current factory will never, ever be built again.”

“There has never been a time when our distribution warehouse was out of stock. The distributors even misunderstood that we were intentionally releasing less stock for promotional purposes.”

“Everyone, just wait a moment.”

Even if you say everyone, it’s only Jeong Seo-hee and the factory manager.

This is because there are only three members of the management meeting, including Jeon Seong-ryeol.

The factory manager was called in specially by Jeong Seo-hee this time to explain the current status of the factory, and Jeon Seong-ryeol contacted Ha Su-yeong.

“Mr. Ha, I think we’ll either have to expand the factory or build a new one…….”

-Huh? Why are you asking me that?