Lesser Factory (3)
“It worked! It really worked!”
Yu Se-rin let out a cheer after checking the company notice on her monitor.
An email that had just arrived from the French headquarters.
In the document file, complete with approval signatures, the project name Versailles Line was printed clearly for all to see.
As the MD of Roche Bobois Korea, her newly proposed line had been approved far faster than she had expected...
She was thrilled, but a little stunned as well.
She had thought the executives at headquarters would spend at least a month or two carefully reviewing her proposal, yet even from her own perspective, the design draft she had sent over this time was undeniably perfect and beautiful.
The patterns divided into three themes and the concepts assigned to each blended together flawlessly, and because they did not clash with the philosophy Roche Bobois already held, headquarters would have had little reason to hesitate.
She even felt grateful to Haesol Textile for creating patterns so exquisitely suited to the concept she had wanted.
“Honey! Call the Pyeongtaek chemical-fiber furniture team and tell them the design’s been approved, so they need to get ready to go into production right away!”
“Seong-im, update the pamphlet first with the new design concept. It needs to be out by tomorrow morning.”
She moved in a flurry.
If she wanted the product out even a little sooner, the only choice was to keep the process moving quickly at every stage.
“Director! It’s me! Headquarters approved it.”
[Ah, is that so? That’s good news.]
“Please produce 2,000 yards for now, and we’ll move ahead with more after we see the response. I’ll handle the contract tomorrow, so could you start production right away?”
[Let’s do that.]
She was just relaying the happy news to Haesol Textile when she happened to see Kang Mo-hyeon entering the office.
Perhaps because he already knew through the company’s internal system that headquarters had approved the Versailles Line concept, his face, which usually wore a smile, looked oddly strained.
Yu Se-rin straightened her back and walked forward with a determined expression.
As the two drew near, they met face to face.
“Congratulations. You’ve been driving sales up again today, too.”
Since it was only rugs and accessories worth less than ten million won in total, the corner of Kang Mo-hyeon’s eye twitched slightly.
“You’re the one who should be congratulated, MD Yu. I saw that headquarters approved your new concept.”
“Thank you. Still, nothing’s certain until we see the results...”
Yu Se-rin was trying her best to be modest when Kang Mo-hyeon twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Well, setting everything else aside, it is furniture made in Korea, so I suppose it’s natural to be uneasy. Whether a luxury sofa made by a Korean company will really catch on or not... that’s not exactly certain.”
Kang Mo-hyeon knew very well that many consumers in the luxury interior market were wary the moment something was not Made in Europe.
She had not said as much out loud, but this was also something Yu Se-rin worried about deep down.
If the concept itself felt too Eastern, it was obvious that wealthy customers would not want to spend money on it the moment they laid eyes on it.
The real question was whether those same wealthy customers, the ones who looked beyond the surface and probed even into the sofa’s origins and theme, would be willing to pay a premium price once they learned the pattern and fabric had been made in Korea.
But Yu Se-rin believed in it.
It was captivating enough to transcend where it came from.
“That’s true. So now I’m curious too. Whether this will save me, or kill me.”
At the enchanting look on Yu Se-rin’s face, Kang Mo-hyeon flinched before he could stop himself.
*
At that same time, at Haesol Textile.
“Since this is clearly super-luxury, the demand for the fabric itself isn’t all that large. It’s a shame that there’s plenty of margin but the volume just isn’t big.”
Department Head Hwang Seok-jae was grinning from ear to ear at the good news from Roche Bobois, even as he wore a look of mild disappointment.
“It can’t be helped. This is only the beginning, after all.”
“Unless headquarters actively wants to import it, I imagine it’ll take some time before sales make a big jump.”
“We can just make something else anyway.”
“Haha, yes. Since we’re busy making other things already, there’s no need to worry too much. Let’s move forward with Lesser Factory as a single line for now.”
At Hwang’s suggestion, Seung-hyun nodded.
“Good. Like we did with GyeolBit bedding, I want to gauge the response online first this time too.”
“Hmm... if you’re serious about pursuing Lesser Factory, Director, how about opening a separate office?”
“Separate?”
“Yes. The factory workers and the employees who’ll grow the Lesser Factory brand are a different breed. Our side is focused on production, but the people who’ll grow the brand need to be experts in sales and promotion. They’ll need to be younger and more sensitive to trends. Even if you don’t physically separate the workspaces, you’d still need to hire completely new staff.”
Seung-hyun, who had only thought about creating a new brand, felt the scale of the work expand in his mind, but he had no intention of backing out now.
“I see. So you’re asking whether I’m really going to do this?”
“Exactly. It means you’ll need additional staff, and that there will be a fairly significant regular payroll expense before long. Is that acceptable?”
“Haven’t we sold a lot already?”
At his slightly cautious question, Department Head Hwang Seok-jae smiled broadly.
“Of course. The corporate account has over 800 million won in spare cash. We spent a lot on the dredging work at Factory 2, but sales are still coming in steadily, so it’s not a level that should worry us. In particular, inquiries for bedding have exploded...”
Factory Manager Park Han-soo, who had been attending the meeting as well, added on.
“I’m not sure we can keep up the volume even if we run bedding at full capacity around the clock on the lines excluding Aero Coolbreeze. The staff will probably have a rough time until Factory 2 starts producing fabric in earnest.”
“That makes sense. Please adjust things well so there aren’t any problems.”
“Of course. The older women who don’t have the stamina are being taken out of the three-shift rotation, and we’re assigning relatively young foreign workers with solid endurance instead. Since we’re paying good wages, they’re actually happier for it.”
“Good. Then let’s start by finding a small office not too far from the factory.”
For some reason, Seung-hyun found preparing Lesser Factory more exciting than making new bedding.
*
A luxury shop in Cheongdam-dong.
The straight runway-style lighting cutting across the lavish interior, along with the luxury accessories displayed here and there, revealed the refined taste of the shop’s owner exactly as it was.
At the center of it all, a woman and a man sat across from each other over tea.
“My, your sense of interior design is still as impressive as ever, President Choi.”
Taesung Apparel Executive Director Kim Ho-yeol glanced down at the gently swaying teacup before offering a light bow to Choi Sook-hyang, who sat opposite him.
Even a man as self-assured as he was found it impossible to completely shake off the discomfort in his heart here.
It was never going to feel easy, meeting his own aunt.
Especially when she was the sort who made it burdensome for anyone listening and insisted he call her President instead of Aunt; that, in its own way, was a line drawn right in front of him, a reminder that he had to stay careful, very careful.
As though concealing the thought he had just swallowed down in his mind, he kept his usual easy smile and took a sip of tea.
“How does it taste?”
Choi Sook-hyang watched him with a quiet smile.
To anyone else, she might have looked like the elegant owner of a luxury shop, but to Kim, she was not someone he could ever treat lightly.
She was not even ten years older than him, yet her charisma was no less than the chairman’s.
“It’s excellent. The fragrance is deep. But what did you call me here for today...?”
At Kim Ho-yeol’s question, Choi Sook-hyang let her soft smile fade and got straight to the point.
“As you know, In-hyuk is having a bit of a hard time. It isn’t easy doing it all on his own.”
“When is it ever easy to stand up alone? Still, he did go out for the LVMH Prize recently, didn’t he? That’s no small thing.”
Perhaps pleased that he had pretended not to know while clearly understanding exactly how In-hyuk had gotten that far, a thin curve appeared at the corner of Choi Sook-hyang’s mouth.
“But that’s not the end of it, is it? You’ll have to help him a little.”
He had suspected she had called him here because she wanted something, but hearing it face to face still left Kim Ho-yeol feeling extremely put upon.
They were on the cusp of the summer golfwear showdown between Biang and Motion-X, and reports of people on the ground already crying out were trickling in.
The reaction to this season’s products made with Motion-X’s Aero Coolbreeze was said to be explosive.
In a situation like that, being told to clean up after someone who could not even stand on his own was enough to make the world go dark in front of him.
“How exactly would you like me to help...?”
Sook-hyang lifted her teacup and asked with a faintly sly smile.
“Couldn’t our clever Executive Director Kim come up with a method? I’m an old woman now, and not a very bright one at that. How am I supposed to think of everything one by one?”
Kim Ho-yeol cursed inwardly.
She doesn’t know? Where the hell is this greedy old woman pulling this line from...
He did not believe a word she said.
If someone told him to come up with a method this very moment, he would wager his entire fortune that Choi Sook-hyang would find more ways than he would. Her resourcefulness was extraordinary.
Wasn’t it precisely with that level of skill that she had become known as Korea’s top designer and brought down the chairman?
“Hmm... then how about this? A collaboration brand between one of our men’s labels and In-hyuk?”
She set down the teacup she had been holding.
“I like that.”
Relieved that he had gotten the right answer on the first try, Kim Ho-yeol let out a quiet sigh of relief and said,
“Thinking of it as a collaboration between MONARCH & CO and In-hyuk’s Indigo Sustainable makes even me a little excited. I think it could turn out very well. Hahaha!”
Even as he burst into hearty laughter, Kim Ho-yeol cursed again inside.
This is insane...
But Choi Sook-hyang nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Good. You’re busy with Taesung golfwear right now, aren’t you? How about starting from this fall season? MONARCH & CO’s classic image, plus my son’s sensuous detailing?”
Sensuous detailing, my ass...
Despite his inner thoughts, a full smile spread across Kim Ho-yeol’s face.
“If we’re talking about the fall season, then... if we move quickly, the timing should more or less work. But is it possible? Even if all the details come out within a month, it’s hard to say whether it’ll make it in time for fall.”
To be honest, even if it were ready right now, it would still be close to impossible.
A collaboration was ninety percent promotion; even if the design came out within a month, the factories would have to churn it out and the product would be on shelves just in time for fall.
Forget the promotion and all the rest of it. They would have to sell it cold at fall pop-up sites.
“Don’t worry. In-hyuk is preparing hard, and besides, I’m here too. Tell MONARCH & CO’s chief designer to come here tomorrow. We need to match our hands and get on the same page.”
“Understood. I’ll send them over right away.”
Choi Sook-hyang wore an elegant smile and finished the tea left in her cup.
Kim Ho-yeol also smiled, inwardly relieved.
He had thought it could have been much worse, and a MONARCH & CO collaboration was, by his standards, a pretty good outcome.
Of course, MONARCH & CO would grumble that some strange collaboration had been dumped onto its fall new-arrivals promotion, but it wasn’t like they were paying for it out of their own pockets. What was there to care about?
“Haha, then please send my regards to In-hyuk. I’ll work things out with him properly.”
“I’m counting on you too, Executive Director Kim. You really are dependable. It’s nice having you firmly in place at Taesung Apparel. The chairman always praises you whenever he sees you, you know. You should know that. Just how much I look after you.”
“Ah, I’ll always do my best.”
Kim Ho-yeol bowed with a bright smile, though he was wearing a bitter one inside.
As he left the luxury shop, he muttered under his breath.
“This is cheap enough. Cheap enough...”
Choi Sook-hyang stood at the second-floor window and watched him for a long while as he headed down the street in his sharply tailored suit.