The Dark Horse 4
Hanil Global headquarters, the president’s office.
On President Jeong Man-sik’s desk sat a thick binder.
Stamped clearly across the cover was the title “Lesser Factory Analysis Report.”
At first, he had flipped through it without much thought, but his expression grew steadily more serious as he went on.
“Hmm...”
Jeong Man-sik adjusted his glasses and began studying the report more carefully.
It laid out everything in detail, from Lesser Factory’s launch to its current sales trend.
Key products: mid-priced sweatshirts, hoodies, casualwear, and more
Consumer response: the low price relative to quality and the excellent comfort were drawing a strong reaction
Core material: proprietary Dual Tex fabric
Sales growth rate: difficult to identify. However, based on the number of actual customer reviews, daily sales are estimated at 3,000 units or more.
His gaze lingered especially long on the fabric section.
The report’s analysis of the material was similar to the Aero Coolbreeze he knew, yet subtly different at the same time.
The fabric has excellent breathability and moisture absorption, and it is soft, with especially fine elasticity that makes it extremely comfortable to wear. Outside of the extreme conditions of midsummer and midwinter, it is effectively suitable for year-round use. In particular, it forms a thin air layer, but through a method different from Aero Coolbreeze, which is interesting. However, the technical refinement is lacking. What is unusual is that this lack of technical polish gives the clothing a distinctive texture, creating a point of differentiation from other SPA brands.
Could this be... an improved version of Aero Coolbreeze?
Jeong Man-sik had never considered that after selling Aero Coolbreeze, Jung Seung-hyun might have gone on to develop another fabric like this.
He slowly turned the page.
The consumer review section caught his attention.
“Once I tried it on, I couldn’t wear anything else.”
“Is quality like this really possible at this price?”
“I bought one piece, loved it, and immediately ordered more.”
“This brand is seriously insane... the prices are at SPA-brand level, but the quality is way better.”
Jeong Man-sik immediately hit the internal line and called Executive Director Han Se-gyeol in.
“Han Executive Director, come to my office right now.”
A few minutes later, Han Se-gyeol knocked and stepped inside.
“You called for me?”
Jeong Man-sik pointed at the report and asked, “Have you touched this fabric yourself?”
Han Se-gyeol nodded.
“Of course. When the team submitted the report, they included the garments for each design, too, and after touching them myself, I found the report’s assessment to be accurate. It is clearly similar to what we have used before, yet more accessible to the general market. Our Aero Coolbreeze is specialized for functional sportswear, but even if its technical polish is a little lower, Dual Tex may actually be better in terms of wearability and price competitiveness.”
“Is that so?”
Jeong Man-sik leaned back deep in his chair and fell into thought.
“At this level, it looks like it could work not only in Korea, but overseas too.”
“I think so too. I especially expect it to do well in Southeast Asia. In a subtropical climate, lightweight clothing that absorbs sweat well is exactly what people want.”
“The Japanese market might be good too. It looks like it could appeal to consumers there, who care a lot about value for money.”
After a moment’s thought, Jeong Man-sik made his decision.
“When do you think that would be?”
“You mean the time when Lesser Factory starts looking overseas? Hmm... probably in about five years. At the very least, they should have around 30 stores in Korea before going abroad... but those Haesol Textile people are the type who are better at exports than at the domestic market, so it could be much faster.”
He frowned, clearly displeased.
In any case, Haesol Textile’s Lesser Factory was a competitor, an opponent he had to beat.
But Hanil Global’s SPA brand, 10O'Clock, was struggling miserably.
Had they not tried using stars like Han Saet-byeol themselves?
There had been some early response to their advertising, but the clothes never earned strong marks from consumers for durability or design.
“Haa... if it weren’t for the LVMH Group...”
“Exactly. At that valuation, I would’ve tried to buy them outright, or at least push through a strategic investment.”
If Hanil Global could buy up Haesol Textile, which had those high-end bedding lines and Lesser Factory, it would be a massive asset boost.
The problem was that once LVMH acquired a stake in Haesol Textile, all of that went up in smoke.
“Should we test the waters now?”
“No matter what price we offer, I doubt they’d sell now. If you were in their shoes, would you sell the company in a situation like this?”
“...No, you wouldn’t.”
“So don’t cling to it and just let the overseas subsidiaries make money cleanly.”
Han Se-gyeol pointed to the report.
“Fine for me, but why aren’t you even saying we should try to beat them? And this is against a rookie who’s barely at the starting line.”
“I want to win too, but 10O'Clock has already suffered a lot of image damage. To overcome that, we’d need an innovative fabric, and nothing meaningful has come out yet. Still, if we insist on trying to beat them, there is a way.”
“What way?”
“Their so-called Dual Tex. In truth, it’s a variation of Aero Coolbreeze, so if we use the law to drag things out and tarnish Lesser Factory’s image... something might come of it. But that would also carry risk for 10O'Clock, and more importantly, there’s the issue of Miss Cha Hee-ju being connected to Haesol Textile. I’ve even heard rumors that it was thanks to President Jung of Haesol Textile that she was able to bring in Promemoria. If that’s true, then we can’t even try.”
“Hoo... I see.”
“The reason 10O'Clock hasn’t been able to keep raising its market share is because it lacks innovation and hasn’t satisfied consumer needs. In that case, your idea of driving exports through local overseas subsidiaries would help offset the weak sales.”
President Jeong understood, but his expression still showed clear dissatisfaction.
“So we end up helping someone else’s product export while leaving our own behind... What do you think my old man would say if I reported this later?”
“Wouldn’t he still say you did well?”
“And if he asks what happened to 10O'Clock?”
“Well... if the lab can’t develop an innovative fabric that surpasses Aero Coolbreeze, there’s nothing we can do. Aero Coolbreeze is a four-season material, so if we could have pushed only 10O'Clock instead of Motion-X, the situation would’ve been very different.”
“Right, right. Fine. Let’s meet with President Jung Seung-hyun once. But not yet. Let’s wait and see whether this is just a flash of attention or sustained growth before making a judgment.”
The decline in sales for Hanil Global’s own brands, including Motion-X, forced Jeong Man-sik to look for a new breakthrough.
He did not like the idea of helping another company’s exports in order to raise sales, but he consoled himself that it couldn’t be helped.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, at the Haesol Textile factory, the production lines were running nonstop, twenty-four hours a day.
As orders surged, Seung-hyun and the employees were working overtime day after day.
“President, if this keeps up, the employees are going to collapse.”
Factory Manager Park Han-soo said this with a worried look.
“I know. But we can’t let these orders slip now. First impressions matter.”
Seung-hyun looked over the production status sheet, his face tired.
They had not expected such a sudden flood of orders while the second factory was still not fully equipped.
If he had known Lesser Factory would take off like this, he would have delayed the launch a little longer, and he felt some regret over that.
“For now, I’ll arrange additional manpower for the employees who’ve requested rest.”
“Yes, do that. And how much time is left until the second factory setup is complete?”
“Some equipment is already running, but at least two more weeks are needed before the full line is finished.”
Seung-hyun let out a long sigh.
Just then, Director Hwang Seok-jae hurried into the office.
“President, Roche Bobois contacted us. They’d like to visit tomorrow morning.”
“Roche Bobois? About what?”
“They didn’t say exactly, but they said they wanted to discuss the Versailles line.”
Seung-hyun looked puzzled.
“I see... Understood. Set it for 11 a.m. tomorrow.”
After Director Hwang left, Seung-hyun gazed out the window and thought for a moment.
Have they made a decision? To produce under royalty?
His thoughts were soon interrupted by a phone call from the Lesser Factory office.
“Hello?”
[President, it’s A-young. The store is absolutely insane right now. Customers keep pouring in, and online orders are coming in even faster. The pink sweatshirts and gray hoodies are completely sold out.]
“Really? I’ll get the production line to restock them as fast as possible. A-young, you’re doing great. Thank you for all your hard work.”
[No, really, I’m just thrilled. I can’t believe people like the clothes I designed this much...]
Seung-hyun smiled at A-young’s excited voice.
“It’s all thanks to you. This was possible because the design was good.”
After hanging up, Seung-hyun turned his eyes back to the production sheet.
The situation was moving fast, but this kind of problem was, in its own way, a welcome one.
At that moment, Factory Manager Park Han-soo knocked and came in.
“President, Ms. Jeong Yu-min from MBS, who was scheduled to visit today, has arrived.”
“Ah, yes. Please show her in.”
In fact, an astonishing piece of news had reached the office the previous day.
The terrestrial broadcaster MBS had expressed its wish to cover Haesol Textile, the company behind the Lesser Factory brand.
Seung-hyun had no reason to refuse, so he accepted at once, and the interview was set for today.
Soon, a woman in her early thirties entered, dressed neatly in a suit.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello. Please, have a seat.”
“Your office is cozy.”
“Yes. Though I’m not sure there’s much to interview about at our company, since we’re still so early in the launch...”
She had a bob haircut and sharp eyes, and as she held a notebook and pen, she sat up straight and said, “Of course there is. I only recently learned about clothing from Lesser Factory, and it’s surprisingly high quality for such a reasonable price. I got curious about where this brand had launched from, looked it up, and since it was a company I’d never heard of before, I came to see it for myself. We can start the interview now, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Would it still be okay if we use a camera?”
“Absolutely. That’s fine.”
“Then just a moment.”
She immediately sent a message somewhere, and not long after, two men carrying camera equipment entered the president’s office.
While that was happening, Reporter Jeong Yu-min had already informed him in advance of the questions she planned to ask, giving him time to prepare his answers.
As the two men with camera equipment entered the office, Reporter Jeong Yu-min took her place with a professional expression. Seung-hyun sat at his desk and straightened his tie slightly.
“5, 4, 3...”
After the cameraman counted down with his fingers, Reporter Jeong Yu-min lifted the microphone.
“Hello, this is Jeong Yu-min from MBS News. Today, we’ve come to Haesol Textile, the headquarters of the fashion brand Lesser Factory, which has been making waves on social media lately. There’s talk that this brand has gained explosive popularity in a short time and may be emerging as a dark horse among domestic SPA brands. To find out why, we met with CEO Jung Seung-hyun.”
The camera turned toward Seung-hyun.
“CEO Jung Seung-hyun, first, could you give us a brief introduction to Lesser Factory?”
Seung-hyun answered calmly with a faint smile.
“Customers who have visited our stores may already have seen it, but this is Lesser Factory’s slogan: ‘Your Everyday, Elevated.’ It means elevating your everyday life. Our goal is to provide good-quality clothing at reasonable prices.”
Watching the interview through the open office door, Director Hwang Seok-jae thought that the second factory needed to be brought online as soon as possible.