Jang Louis Breguet and Cha Hee-ju (4)
Cha Hee-ju sat in a chair, neatly dressed in a gray suit, and stared at her laptop screen.
On the desk lay media clippings about Haesol Textile and a stack of concise printouts.
They were materials she had gathered privately over the past few days, and most of them concerned Haesol Textile’s collaboration with Hanil Global Motion-X.
There were no domestic articles at all about the bedding brand GyeolBit, which had become a talking point after attending Maison & Objet. Instead, she could only find a handful of articles overseas.
“What exactly is he trying to get us to bring in?”
Her goal was clear.
Bring in a luxury interior brand so exclusive that even ordinary rich people could not buy it easily, and raise the department store’s prestige by sheer force.
Something so coveted that only celebrities and the truly wealthy could even dream of it, a brand that would make people rush to Mirae Department Store simply to display their wealth.
Promemoria would have fit the bill.
But she had already given up on it because the executive in charge had shown no interest in entering the Korean market, and then Jang Louis had appeared and given her a clue: Haesol Textile bedding.
The problem was whether she could actually give him what he wanted.
However much she was the granddaughter of the group chairman and worked in Mirae Department Store’s merchandising division, she was not an executive, and any decision above her level still needed approval from the top.
Just because the employees had to watch her mood did not mean they would approve something absurd on her say-so.
And even if they did bring it in, what if sales fell?
Doubt about her judgment would spread among the staff, and her position would surely become far more precarious afterward.
Cha Hee-ju took a sip of the coffee on her desk.
When the milk foam brushed her lips, some corner of her mind suddenly felt scorched dry.
The meeting time was almost here.
She gathered the materials she had prepared and stood up.
[Main Conference Room]
By then, more than ten executives were already seated around the conference room, and Cha Hee-ju stood behind Kim Dong-yeon, head of the overseas luxury business division.
Lee Seo-yeon, the head of merchandising, who was seated beside Kim Dong-yeon, noticed Cha Hee-ju standing behind them and smiled.
“You’re here. Don’t be too nervous.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She was not yet an executive, but her mother, Jin Sung-im, the president of Mirae Department Store, had made a special arrangement so that she could attend the executive meeting.
Far away, she could see her older brother, Cha Kwang-jin, seated in the general management office chair.
He gave his sister a faint smile, but Hee-ju turned away with a stiff expression.
After a moment, a woman who looked to be in her late forties on the surface walked in and took the seat at the head of the table.
Her face looked youthful and her figure was slim, but unlike her appearance, her temperament was fiery, and her real age was nearing sixty. She was Jin Sung-im, the president of Mirae Department Store.
Sitting at the head of the table, she glanced once around the executives and then snapped, “Let’s begin.”
There was an edge to the way she ran meetings.
She was decisive, never dragged her words out, and went straight for the point.
“Why are sales at the Pangyo branch like this?”
“Daegu, what happened with food management that there are this many complaints? Do people even taste the products?”
“Gangnam renovated, and sales dropped. What do you think the reason is?”
As retail as a whole moved into a downturn, President Jin Sung-im’s nerves had grown sharper and sharper.
So things she might once have brushed off without a thought were no longer being treated lightly.
And then, midway through the long meeting, she said, “Head of General Management Cha Kwang-jin? Is there any way to raise online sales?”
Even though the digital business division had its own head, she had asked her son directly, perhaps as a test or perhaps because the question had already been rehearsed in advance. The executives watched with brightened eyes.
“For mid-priced models, there are already established shopping platforms, so I think it would be difficult for us to take their share right now.”
“So?”
“We should either develop competitive food products or focus on high-end luxury goods...”
“Hmm...”
She had not even finished hearing her son out before she let out a sigh.
So Cha Kwang-jin fell silent and watched her expression.
“Assistant Manager Cha Hee-ju? Didn’t you prepare anything?”
Merchandising head Lee Seo-yeon turned her head, silently mouthing, Relax, to help her.
Even though Hee-ju had been working in the overseas luxury business division for more than a year, it was not easy to bring up a topic that would draw special attention in an executive meeting.
There was a reason people said if you stayed still, you at least broke even. But when the president asked you a question, keeping your mouth shut was ridiculous too.
And yet she could not just blurt out anything with all those executives watching her.
“Actually, I’ve been trying to find a way to contact Davide Sochi of Promemoria.”
At once, a ripple went through the executives’ faces.
“Promemoria? Really?”
Even President Jin Sung-im, who had been blowing cold wind through the room all meeting long, leaned forward slightly and asked.
“Yes. Yesterday, I met with Jang Louis Breguet of Blanc des Vosges and we discussed...”
Before Cha Hee-ju could finish her sentence,
“The vice president of Blanc des Vosges came to Korea?”
President Jin Sung-im asked Cha Kwang-jin, head of general management.
Seeing her son rolling his eyes, clearly not understanding what was going on, Jin’s gaze moved this time to the chief secretary.
“I’m sorry. I’ll look into it.”
“Forget it. How did you know?”
Startled, Cha Hee-ju answered, “Yes, President Jeong Man-sik of Hanil Global told me...”
“Ah, so President Jeong only told you? That?”
Seeing Hee-ju turn her head with an embarrassed smile, President Jin Sung-im nodded.
“Right. President Jeong has liked you since you were little.”
Then she looked at her son, Cha Kwang-jin.
As expected, Cha Kwang-jin’s face had darkened.
President Jin turned away again with a bitter look.
“Continue.”
“Yes. Davide Sochi, the CEO of Promemoria, has insomnia, so I said that if we could offer bedding in a special limited edition, he might give us a chance.”
“How did you know Jang Louis was close to Davide Sochi?”
“I had already been looking into it because I wanted to bring in a high-end furniture line that didn’t exist in Korea yet.”
“Oh? Really? So what about a gift?”
“That is...”
“The mission sounds easy, but it’s hard, isn’t it? If he’s Davide Sochi, he’d already own luxury bedding from Europe. Or do you think he wants something special anyway?”
“It’s not that. Jang Louis specifically named a certain company’s bedding right there on the spot.”
President Jin’s eyes widened.
“Really? Which one?”
“He said it was Haesol Textile...”
“Huh? Which one?”
“It’s a brand that isn’t well known in Korea, but... may I use the screen for a moment?”
Cha Hee-ju immediately opened Instagram on the computer connected to the screen and searched for a model.
Then she said, “What? No way, is that Michelle Lacroix...”
“Yes. The bedding you’re looking at now was developed by a Korean company called Haesol Textile, and the brand name is GyeolBit. It isn’t sold in Korea yet, and because overseas orders are heavy, they don’t currently plan to sell domestically.”
President Jin Sung-im slightly parted her lips and stared at Michelle’s Instagram video before speaking.
“Why did Jang Louis choose that company?”
“Actually, yesterday President Jeong, Jang Louis, and Haesol Textile’s President Jung Seung-hyun were all together.”
“Really? Why?”
“It was an event for Hanil Global’s Motion-X line. They had specially invited Haesol Textile this year after developing a new fabric together, Aero Coolbreeze. On top of that, Haesol Textile reportedly received an investment of nearly ten billion won from LVMH not long ago.”
“Hah, there was a company like that in Korea? That’s surprising. So? Did you contact this Haesol Textile?”
Cha Hee-ju, who had been eagerly explaining the results, stiffened.
“That... they refused.”
“What?”
Seeing the frown that spread across President Jin’s face, Hee-ju quietly turned her head away.
*
In the middle of Gangnam’s luxury furniture district, inside the Roche Bobois building where glass and metal frames came together.
On one side, expensive furniture was displayed gracefully beneath the lighting, while employees hurried about, preparing to receive the new Versailles Line sofa that was arriving today.
Whirr.
A powered lift rolled in toward the back of the showroom.
The sofa, wrapped in thick protective packaging, came into view, and the staff coordinated their movements to lower it carefully onto the floor.
“It’s finally here!”
Yu Se-rin took the lead herself and began unwrapping it.
As the antique pattern of the art fabric was finally revealed, the nearby staff and designers let out audible gasps.
“Wow... I didn’t know the colors would be this subtle.”
“It’s luxurious, but it also has that old European elegance.”
The fabric had a pale beige base with Haesol Textile’s signature faded texture and a pattern unlike anything they had seen before, rendered with exquisite delicacy.
Seeing how perfectly it had been fitted to the sofa’s curves, the atmosphere already felt like the very highest tier of luxury.
Standing off to the side with his arms loose at his sides, Kang Mo-hyun frowned slightly.
This... is all it is?
He was tense inside.
Something at roughly the same price point as the line he was in charge of had just arrived with such startling impact that he worried his own line might be overshadowed.
He had already thought it would be a good piece, one that could carry on the refinement Roche Bobois was known for. But seeing the actual sofa instead of a sample swatch made it even more than expected.
No, it was not merely a little better. It showed a beauty on an entirely different level, to the point that he found himself wondering, Is this really a Roche Bobois piece?
By contrast, Yu Se-rin smiled with clear satisfaction.
“If we adjust the lighting over there, it’ll stand out even more. Please check it.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
She darted around the showroom with lively energy, as if to show Kang Mo-hyun up.
She was busy bringing out every detail she could so that the Versailles Line would catch the eye more easily and pull people in.
Before long, the showroom doors opened and customers began filing in one by one.
“Oh my, what is this? Is it a new sofa?”
A middle-aged woman with a leather handbag slung over her shoulder approached and carefully touched the sofa’s surface with her hand.
“Oh, the texture is... incredibly soft. What material is this?”
Yu Se-rin, who had been moving her lips even before the customer arrived, came forward the moment their eyes met and began speaking with gentle ease.
“This is Roche Bobois’s new Versailles Line. We made the art fabric with a theme inspired by the old grandeur of French palaces. What do you think?”
“Really... at this level, it wouldn’t be out of place compared to European luxury brands. May I sit on it myself?”
“Of course. Please sit carefully.”
When the woman sat down, the sofa’s softness and firmness wrapped around her body in a warm embrace.
“Oh my, this feels so good... How much is it?”
In truth, it only felt better because of the fabric’s special character; the cushion itself was not particularly different from the ones on the existing sofas.
Naturally, Yu Se-rin did not point that out. She simply smiled and said, “It’s 24 million won.”
After seeing the price tag, the woman seemed momentarily taken aback, but she did not wipe the smile from her face.
It was several times the price of ordinary furniture, but VIP customers who came here to flaunt their wealth were different.
“I’ll take it.”
Watching the woman decide without even a second thought, Yu Se-rin felt a thrilling rush.
Wasn’t this what she had worked so hard for all this time?
And there was someone else watching all of this closely.
Hmph.
Kang Mo-hyun had definitely thought something like this might happen today.
But sales were all about momentum.
If the other side had the upper hand, you had to press them down if you wanted to seize it for yourself.
For a situation like this, he had already called over the wives he had once told it might be time to replace the sofa.
“Today, I prepared a special...”
Before he could finish, one of the wives drifted, transfixed, toward the most eye-catching sofa in the showroom.
“What’s this?”
Kang Mo-hyun’s face twisted.
Yu Se-rin approached with an apologetic expression and said, “What should we do? This is the newest of the new pieces, placed in the showroom for the very first time today, but the order was just completed, so... there aren’t many left, almost like a limited edition. You’d need to reserve it.”
At the same time, the words new and limited edition appeared, the ones wealthy women went wild for, and the wife’s eyes drew hearts.
“Oh, really?”
“And the price is on the high side, too...”
She gave the customer a slight scratch with the price, right where it hurt.
“How much?”
“24 million won.”
She was exceedingly polite, but her eyes asked whether that was possible.
Yu Se-rin thought it was over.
“I’ll reserve it.”
And once again, she felt that electric rush of triumph.
Meanwhile, Kang Mo-hyun’s face turned the color of ash.