Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: Franchise Price Negotiation
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Swish.
As the door opened, the people waiting inside immediately stood up. They bowed politely and headed to their assigned seats.
Half of the long row of tables was occupied by our side, while the other half had representatives from the franchise owners.
Among them, I spotted Kim Jong-chun's face and chuckled inwardly.
*Looks like he got pushed into this whether he wanted to or not.*
When our eyes met, he averted his gaze as if he'd committed a crime. I wanted to tell him there was no need for that, but given the situation, he'd have to hold it in.
Every eye was on me, making me watch my every move carefully.
*The franchise reps were elected by vote, right?*
They'd formed councils by region, nominated candidates from those councils, and then voted for the final reps.
*Usually, someone with experience and deep industry knowledge gets picked.*
This industry was small enough that franchise owners knew all the good people and thriving spots through word of mouth.
For longstanding brands, they often elected veterans who'd been store owners for 10 or 20 years and weathered every storm.
*Our brand is still young, so the councils were thrown together a bit hastily. But the lineup is solid.*
Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many people dilute the meaning of "representative."
There were three franchise reps in total.
*One's Kim Jong-chun, who I know.*
He was probably picked for his connection to me and his good relations with headquarters.
*One's Jeong Mi-hyeon, a franchise owner from the early days.*
A middle-aged woman stared over with a blank expression. She was one of the first franchise owners I'd handpicked myself.
*And No Seong-min, who's worked over 20 years at similar franchise brands.*
A man with streaks of gray in his hair smiled at us. The wrinkles around his eyes from smiling made him look all the more affable.
Not a bad lineup.
One negotiator who could keep flexible ties with headquarters, one strategist who knew the ins and outs, and one veteran who had the industry's pulse.
Well-balanced.
Our side—me, Jo Yi-ruk, and No Se-hee—matched them without a hitch.
"Ah, nice to meet you, President. I'm No Seong-min, the new franchise rep."
No Seong-min spoke first with a smile.
Word was he'd handled these kinds of negotiations often at his old franchise. Recalling the background Jo Yi-ruk had briefed me on, I smiled back.
"Nice to meet you. Song Wu-yeon."
"I'm Jeong Mi-hyeon."
"Uh, Kim Jong-chun."
The other two followed suit. Kim Jong-chun couldn't hide his awkwardness—this was his first time meeting me in an official setting.
But public and private had to be kept separate. I gave him the same polite bow as the others, no special treatment.
Once everyone was seated, an awkward, tense air settled in.
Jo Yi-ruk and No Se-hee were new to fronting these things too, and their subtle tension showed.
I broke the ice first.
"You're all busy people, so no need for me to waste time with chit-chat. Let's get to the point. Franchise reps, go ahead and present your price increase proposal."
No sooner had I finished than No Seong-min shot to his feet.
"Glad you cut right to it—puts us at ease. Haha. Mind if we start with our proposal?"
"Yes, please do."
"Thank you. Ahem."
No Seong-min cleared his throat, pulled out his prepared documents, and began reading.
"As headquarters knows, prices have surged over the past two years. Rent, ingredients, labor—everything's gone up steadily, so the profitability promised in our original contracts isn't holding. We're at our limit."
Strong opener.
"Without a price hike, we can't even cover labor costs. We work our bones to dust day and night—if we earn less than someone working 52 hours a week elsewhere, what's the point of running a Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap?"
Experience told, alright. He had headquarters on the ropes, and he was good.
"That's why we're demanding a 1,000-won increase. This isn't about padding our pockets—it's for our survival. That's our proposal."
Clean and crisp.
A 1,000-won hike—we'd negotiate down from there, but their ask gave me a sense of their target.
*They're aiming for 400 to 600 won.*
Current price was 6,500 won, so their range was roughly 6,900 to 7,100 won.
*Reasonable.*
Nothing headquarters couldn't swallow.
But 400 versus 600 won was worlds apart. The 200-won gap was the real battleground.
"We heard you out. Now, our side?"
At my cue, Jo Yi-ruk handed over our documents.
"First, recent gukbap price survey. Most are 5,000 to 7,000 won. Varies by type and region, but in the capital area, nearly all have hit 7,000 won."
"...! Exactly. Everyone else raised prices, so we should..."
"But if we follow suit every time, don't we lose our price edge? Especially since Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap's rapid growth came from our value-for-money rep."
No Seong-min shut his mouth. He'd thought I'd nod along naively.
"With competitors still in the high 6,000s, jumping to 7,500 won risks losing customers."
"You think we haven't heard that from headquarters before? Sure, hikes always spark backlash at first."
"Even so, 1,000 won is a big hit to consumers."
Jeong Mi-hyeon chimed in then.
"But without at least 1,000 won, we can't get fair pay for our work. Plenty of owners are struggling just to keep stores open."
Shifting focus to the franchise side. Smart.
"Pork and rice—gukbap staples—are up 15% and 10%, wages rise yearly, rent's through the roof. Doesn't headquarters feel our pain?"
Made me sound like the bad guy squeezing the little guy. Felt awkward.
"I'm not against a hike. Just needs to be reasonable. 1,000 won's too much."
"Then what's headquarters proposing?"
"How about 300 won, to 6,800 won?"
No Seong-min slammed the table and leaped up before I finished.
"300 won? That's outrageous!"
They'd probably clocked our lowball to anchor at 400 won.
No Seong-min's over-the-top reaction painted our stance as absurd—a show to swing the mood his way.
"What about 700 won? 7,200 won seems mutually agreeable."
Kim Jong-chun tossed in carefully, his smile pitiful. I shot it down flat.
"Over 7,000 won tanks satisfaction. That's why home shopping does 9,990 won, not 10,000."
100 or 200 won mattered, sure—but between 7,100 or 7,200, why not 6,900?
Proposals kept getting shot down, souring the mood fast. They figured we weren't listening.
Headquarters and franchises rarely parted happy—nothing surprising.
"So headquarters won't go above 6,900 won? Is that your stance?"
No Seong-min asked, face stiff.
"400 won's already 6-7% up from current."
"Inflation's steeper than that!"
Tensions peaked. Voices rose as I tapped the table with my fingers.
Ten seconds to go.
10, 9, 8, 7.
"Headquarters called this meeting to discuss hikes, didn't they?!"
6, 5, 4.
"If you're just gonna ram through your position, why bother with reps?"
3, 2, 1.
"If you're this unreasonable, we'll have to resort to our last..."
Ding.
As I counted down silently, I leaned forward.
That tiny move silenced them all, eyes on me.
"How about this."
I smiled and spoke.