The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 313



Only Krnovel

313. Paradigm (2)

Friday morning.

Today I went to work, not at work, but at Captain Kang’s office.

Because I had made an appointment in advance, the CEO was already waiting for me in the office.

“Chairman, this same-day delivery service is truly amazing. I received the product within 6 hours of ordering. And the early morning delivery is also a truly groundbreaking service. I never thought there would come a world where you could have fresh food delivered at dawn and prepare breakfast. .”

“Is there anything that cannot be done with the power of money? As the number of users increases, the number of items that can be delivered on the same day will increase.”

It was a boss who praised Rocket as soon as he arrived.

Not only that, but Captain Kang also helped.

“I’m using it well. Taxi drivers are all excited about the rocket.”

“Stop talking about the obvious, what is the atmosphere like at large distributors?”

This was the reason I visited Captain Kang’s office.

They were Captain Kang’s employees who were skilled at collecting information, and they were monitoring the movements of large distributors 24 hours a day.

“Several companies are showing moves to prepare e-commerce services similar to Rocket. In particular, Charlotte Group, which owns all large supermarkets and department stores, is making the most active moves, and New World Group, a Pan-Samjin Group, is also showing similar movements. .”

Both were groups that owned department stores and large supermarkets.

Since Rocket is breaking new records every day, it was natural to show interest.

There was no way they could remain silent, especially since they were even touching food, which was their territory.

“It would be difficult if the two groups banded together.”

“The likelihood of solidarity is less than 1%. Rather, a scenario where they join hands with us and attack the other company is more likely.”

A president spoke with confidence.

In fact, it was close to impossible for the first and second ranked competitors to join hands.

And the Charlotte Group and New World Group were at war in many places.

“The war between Charlotte Group and New World Group has been going on for roughly 80 years, right?”

“It is safe to say that they are waging war from generation to generation. Since the two groups are dividing the Korean distribution market, they are fighting over trivial things.”

“Then the possibility of solidarity is very low.”

May-dongju.

No matter how much they fought, they could join hands depending on their interests.

However, the bad relationship between Charlotte and New World Group was so deep that they could not be in the same boat.

“So, I expect it to be a three-way match between Rocket, Charlotte, and New World.”

“Are other e-commerce companies already excluded?”

“These are e-commerce companies that do not have the financial resources to withstand cutthroat competition. Can’t we count the shrimp that get caught in the fight with the whales?”

Some e-commerce companies have already raised the white flag.

At first, e-commerce companies followed us and distributed coupons, but when we continued to hold discount events, they were unable to handle the deficit and gave up competition.

“Keep an eye on them. If Charlotte or New World challenge the e-commerce market, we will immediately counterattack.”

“Someday, distributors will enter the e-commerce market, but I think it’s difficult right now. Rocket was able to create a product quickly by bringing Amazon’s distribution system and know-how, but other companies lack such systems and know-how.”

It was a battle in which distributors with large supermarkets might have the advantage.

We have to store goods in large warehouses, but they were able to use large supermarkets as warehouses.

“Hmm, I need to make sure they don’t even dare to enter the e-commerce market.”

“No matter how strongly we threaten, it seems that large distributors will not easily stop.”

“If you make threats, there will be a backlash. So, rather than threatening, you should release information and make them go away on their own.”

“In what way do you mean?”

“How much is Rocket’s deficit this week?”

A CEO took out his cell phone and compared Rocket’s sales and costs.

After finishing the calculation, I sighed and answered.

“The deficit is much larger than I expected. This week alone, the deficit is over 30 billion won.”

“Then how much will the deficit be in one year?”

“If the deficit continues to accumulate as it is now, we will face a deficit of at least 2 trillion won. However, as we continue to build logistics warehouses, we could also see a deficit of 3 trillion won.”

As competition was fierce, it was inevitable that they would suffer huge losses.

Moreover, as investments continued, the deficit was growing rather than decreasing.

“Can a large distribution group afford a deficit of close to 3 trillion won every year?”

“It may be manageable, but it will cause great damage.”

“Then, if we spread Rocket’s deficit to large distributors, wouldn’t they go out of business on their own?”

“Are you intentionally trying to publicize the size of the deficit?”

“This is an invitation to enter the e-commerce market if you are confident of seeing a deficit of 3 trillion won every year.”

The global economy was still in turmoil due to the Lehman crisis.

The same was true for the Korean economy, and under these circumstances, would large retailers be able to enter the e-commerce market while enduring losses of 2 to 3 trillion won?

“I specialize in secretly unraveling information. I will use intelligence personnel to inform large distributors of the size of Rocket’s deficit.”

“The information will be released to the media after this quarter, but I don’t want it to be leaked to the media right now.”

“We will release the information so that only the leaders of large distribution companies can find out.”

Winning without fighting.

It was the best strategy mentioned in Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

Even if the size of the deficit was known, large distributors could be prevented from participating in the chicken game.

“And I have to meet Charlotte and the presidents of New World Group sometime soon.”

“Is there really a need to meet you? If you just give me the information, I will give up on entering the e-commerce market on my own.”

“If we meet in person, we can put our stamp on it more clearly. Of course, I won’t threaten you. Don’t worry, I’ll come back complaining a lot.”

I wanted to sort out the issues with large distributors before the Apple Car was released.

Therefore, I planned to meet with the CEOs of large distribution companies and negotiate.

* * *

A meeting with Charlotte Group Chairman Jin Ho-kyun was held.

It was Chairman Jin Ho-gyun who greeted me with a smile that could not be hidden, perhaps because the scale of Rocket’s deficit was already known.

“Why does the busiest person in Korea ask to see me these days? Isn’t 24 hours enough to sort out what the Taewo Group has done?”

“Chairman Jin, do you think I did something for nothing?”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in the U.S. for a long time, but I don’t know much about the Korean situation. It’s true that Korea is smaller than the U.S., but it’s not an easy market.”

Is it because I became the chairman of Taewoo Group?

It was Chairman Jin Ho-gyun who always used honorifics for me, who was about the age of his grandson.

However, that way of speaking had the effect of getting on people’s nerves even more.

Of course, it wasn’t actually scratched. Just pretending to be scratched.

“Still, with Taewoo Group’s financial strength, wouldn’t we be able to survive somehow?”

“According to rumors, I heard that we have already seen a deficit of 30 billion won. They say we could see a deficit of over 3 trillion won in one year. Is that true?”

“Has that rumor already spread to the Charlotte Group? We need to retrain the people in charge on how to manage information.”

“It means the rumor is true. Hehe, no matter how good the financial situation of the Taewo Group is, the annual deficit of 3 trillion won is not a small amount.”

Chairman Jin Hyo-gyun seemed to have fun making fun of me.

I tried my best to match his rhythm.

“It is a considerable amount, but I cannot back down because it is a matter of my pride. If 3 trillion won is not enough, I plan to pour in 5 trillion won, and if it is still not enough, I am willing to pour in all of Taewoo Group’s reserves.”

“You really mean it. Is it because you don’t want to be recorded as a failure?”

“So far, none of the projects I have worked on have failed. So shouldn’t we turn failure into success, even if it means pouring money into it?”

The smile disappeared from Chairman Jin Ho-gyun’s face.

He read my sincerity that if anyone enters the e-commerce market, I will stamp it out with money.

Even though he felt my sincerity, Chairman Jin Ho-gyun wanted to confirm it one more time.

He cleared his throat and asked a question with an assumption.

“···What do you plan to do if a large retailer takes off the rocket and enters the e-commerce market?”

“I plan to use every means at my disposal to become the winner of the game of chicken. Not only will I save money, but if necessary, I will even join hands with other distributors to make them give up.”

“Are you warning me?”

“How can I warn Chairman Jin? I just need you to know that I am serious about this business.”

Did I speak too aggressively?

Chairman Jin Ho-gyun returned to his old speaking style.

But like a seasoned businessman, he quickly put his mask back on.

“You have the same personality as your grandfather. Chairman Kim Tae-jung also had the personality of a maverick, which helped Taewoo Group grow to such an extent. I also learned from my grandfather the boldness to get rid of anything that stands in his way.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“Charlotte Group has no plans to enter the online commerce market for the time being. However, Charlotte Mart and department stores will someday start selling online in earnest. When that happens, do you plan to turn on Charlotte Group?”

There was no intention to monopolize the entire market.

All we had to do was clarify each other’s territory, and of course we hoped that the area occupied by the Taewo Group would be wider.

“How can I interfere with the affairs of the Charlotte Group? And I don’t want to make many enemies. Unless we launch a rocket sniping service, I will never become an enemy with the Charlotte Group.”

“It’s us, but I don’t know how New World Group will come out. They probably won’t sit still.”

You say it like you care about me.

In reality, it was Chairman Jin Ho-gyun who wanted Taewoo Group and New World Group to fight.

They probably believe that if we fight, we can dominate the distribution market like fishermen.

Of course, if New World Group were to snipe at us, we had no intention of avoiding it.

However, I had no intention of just watching the Charlotte Group dominate the Korean distribution market.

“We have scheduled a meeting with New World Group soon.”

“They’re going around and giving warnings. Hehe, Taewu’s group has drawn its sword, so they’ll have to chop up the radish. I wonder which group will become the radish.”

Chairman Jin Ho-gyun completely stepped down.

The Charlotte Group was showing its will to never participate in this game of chicken.

It was worth taking the time to meet Chairman Jin Ho-gyun.

Even if we leave out Charlotte Group, the second largest company in the Korean distribution market, we have already achieved half of our success.

* * *

A week later.

A boss came to visit me in the morning.

“Have you finished your conversation with New World Group?”

“It ended very well. Like the Charlotte Group, they strongly expressed their determination not to turn us into enemies.”

I had a meeting with New World Group last night.

I returned after having an almost similar conversation with Chairman Jin Ho-gyun.

“Now that the first and second largest companies in the Korean distribution market have withdrawn, there will be no group that can keep Rocket in check.”

“You never know. Other distribution companies might come in to check.”

“If something like that happens, won’t we clearly know why Charlotte and New World Group fell behind?”

“That will happen. Now we just have to meet one more president and the big event is over.”

“A meeting with Hyunjae Motors Chairman Jang Kyung-jun is scheduled for tomorrow.”

The current automobile group did not have much to do with the distribution market.

The reason I met him was to discuss the electric vehicle market, not the distribution market.

The purpose was roughly similar. The purpose was to deliver a warning message not to check the electric vehicle business.