Swelling the Company’s Size, Part 4
From early morning, a cheerful mood had hung over the Haesol Textile conference room.
The test results report from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration had arrived, and the contents were more than satisfying.
For now, the verdict was a pass.
Even so, in a situation like this, anyone would want to know exactly which areas had scored well and which had not, so Seung-hyun was carefully going over the report line by line.
Hwang Seok-jae and Park Han-soo waited quietly, watching his reaction.
“The scores are even better than I expected.”
A smile spread across Seung-hyun’s face.
The military uniform samples made from Dual-Tex fabric had not only passed every test the Defense Acquisition Program Administration had thrown at them, but had also outperformed standard uniforms by a wide margin.
“In the durability test, it scored 143 percent of the existing uniforms. Water resistance came in at 167 percent, and breathability at 152 percent. It passed the flame-retardancy test as well, and especially in terms of comfort, the soldiers’ satisfaction was overwhelming.”
At Hwang Seok-jae’s report, Seung-hyun nodded.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration was famous for its rigorous testing.
To get results like these from a test that strict was proof enough that Dual-Tex had enormous potential.
“Contact Lieutenant Colonel Mok and tell him we’ll proceed with acquiring Hwain Sangsa. At the same time, have them prepare the military uniform supply contract as well. If we acquire the factory and then leave it idle because of the contract, we’ll just burn money on labor costs.”
“Understood. I’ll also ask the Defense Acquisition Program Administration to cooperate as much as possible so the factory can go into production immediately after the acquisition.”
Park Han-soo added, “Hwain Sangsa’s equipment is specialized for military uniform production, so once we take it over, we should be able to start producing right away. There will be a few machines that need replacing, but I’ll handle that personally.”
“How are you planning to handle fabric production?”
“If we make the fabric at Factory No. 2 and then haul it all the way to Busan to turn it into uniforms, we’ll only be adding unnecessary transport costs. For the business to make sense, we need to produce the uniforms directly at Hwain Sangsa in Busan. And the factory’s capacity is so much larger than this first factory’s that we can run both without any strain at all. In fact, we’ll still have spare equipment left over.”
“Then we could produce Lesser Factory there too, right?”
Park Han-soo, who had already conducted one site inspection, nodded vigorously.
“Of course. I spoke with the employees there during the inspection and watched the fabric being run, and most of them aren’t far behind our own staff in skill. We should be able to start turning out product right away without any real adjustment period.”
Park Han-soo seemed so pleased with the idea of acquiring Hwain Sangsa that the smile never left his face.
Seung-hyun picked up another document from the table, then set it down again.
It was the proposal from Royal Department Store for launching the GyeolBit bedding brand, but he only glanced at it before turning away and saying, “For now, let’s focus on acquiring Hwain Sangsa.”
Hwang Seok-jae asked, sounding curious, “You’re planning to turn down Royal Department Store’s proposal?”
“Well... to be honest, I don’t particularly like Vice President Kim Jun-hyuk, and I also think I should at least discuss it with Cha Hee-ju. The relationship with Mirae Department Store is important too.”
“That’s a reasonable judgment.”
Hwang appreciated the way the young chairman was trying to make a cautious decision.
He liked that.
Still, Seung-hyun would only need to keep one thing in mind from then on: if the brand ever became even a little troublesome, the man would cut it loose without hesitation.
Two days later, the VIP lounge at Mirae Department Store.
Cha Hee-ju greeted Seung-hyun in an elegant dress.
She looked slightly more tense than usual.
“It’s been a while. I heard you’ve been busy lately.”
Seung-hyun smiled and took a seat.
“Yes, as the company keeps growing, there’s more and more to do. How about you, Hee-ju? Did you get promoted?”
“Oh my, what kind of office worker gets promoted that easily?”
“Ordinary office workers don’t, but you’re not ordinary, are you? One word from your mother and you’d be an executive already, right?”
“Not really. My brother might be like that, but I still don’t have enough experience... They said I’d need at least five years of hands-on work.”
“Oh, five years?”
“It has to be that long before you really understand how a department store works.”
Cha Hee-ju took a sip of coffee and asked, “But you asked to meet all of a sudden. What’s going on?”
Seung-hyun drank some of the green tea she had ordered for him, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and then spoke.
“The truth is, Royal Department Store made a proposal to launch the GyeolBit bedding brand.”
Cha Hee-ju’s eyes widened.
“What? Really? What kind of terms?”
As Seung-hyun explained the details of Royal Department Store’s offer, her expression slowly hardened.
An exclusive event space on the top floor of the department store, marketing support, and a guaranteed minimum monthly sales volume of more than 500 million won...
It was an outrageous offer.
Cha Hee-ju fell silent for a moment, then said with determination, “Hmm... Chairman Jung, first of all, thank you so much for telling me about this before signing with Royal Department Store.”
“Honestly, I didn’t have a good memory of Vice President Kim Jun-hyuk from the party, so I decided not to make a decision right away and to wait a little.”
“Exactly. This is why people should always stay humble.”
For the moment, she let out a sigh of relief.
He had almost handed over a company capable of producing high-end bedding so good that even Davide Sochi, CEO of Pro Memoria, had been moved enough to act, and he had nearly given it to a rival department store.
If she had treated Chairman Jung Seung-hyun more politely at that party, he might never have come to her at all.
In a low but clear voice, Cha Hee-ju said, “Sign with Mirae Department Store instead. We worked on the Pro Memoria project together, didn’t we? I knew you first, after all, so I can’t let Royal Department Store take you away.”
At her bold attitude, Seung-hyun smiled, and Hee-ju continued.
“We can prepare an exclusive GyeolBit launch ourselves. On better terms than Royal Department Store, too. Our VIP customers already know the value of the brand through the GyeolBit Edition we developed with Pro Memoria. We can do much more effective marketing than Royal Department Store ever could. And we’ll guarantee that monthly 500 million won in sales too.”
Seung-hyun nodded at her passionate offer.
He wasn’t the sort of person to act small-minded by nature, but when he thought back to the way he had dismissed people at the party, she did seem like the type who would cut him off without mercy if the brand became even slightly difficult.
“Fine. Send me a detailed proposal first. I’ll review it and make a decision.”
That was almost as good as a yes.
“Thank you. Since we only just heard about this, I’ll need to confirm the exact booth location and event schedule. I’ll work everything out so we can launch at the best possible time, so please wait just a little longer.”
“All right.”
“And don’t go and accept Royal Department Store before then!”
“If you take too long, I may go that way.”
“Please don’t. I might get so worked up I could die.”
She clasped her hands together in an exaggerated plea, jokingly begging him.
Of course she wasn’t serious, but she was certainly desperate enough.
Hanil Global headquarters.
Executive Director Han Se-gyeol was sitting in the president’s office, drinking tea across from President Jeong Man-sik.
“Do you think Haesol Textile will agree?”
President Jeong Man-sik brushed a stray hair from his clothes with an irritated motion.
“How would I know? Dammit... what’s the use of having a research institute if they can’t make even one decent fabric...”
Even Han Se-gyeol, who was usually not shy about speaking his mind, had nothing to say to that.
After all, they had set up a research institute with more than 10 billion won, staffed it with dozens of researchers earning salaries in the hundreds of millions, and still couldn’t produce a single proper fabric.
Then some small-time mid-sized company suddenly churned out Dual-Tex, and if that wasn’t enough to make a man furious, something would be wrong with him.
“I’m sorry.”
So even the talkative Han Se-gyeol apologized without adding a single extra word.
No amount of arguing that rival Taesung Apparel was doing even worse would matter when Lesser Factory was right in front of them outperforming their own SPA brand, 10O'Clock.
“Are those research idiots just sitting around and wasting salaries?”
“I’ll check on it personally.”
“This is the most humiliating thing I’ve ever had to put up with. What is this? Going to a mid-sized company and asking them to develop fabric for us. If it were some European luxury house, I wouldn’t say a word. If it were a Japanese fabric company with fifty years under its belt, I’d still say nothing.”
“...”
“Spit it out. What is it?”
In truth, this meeting had been arranged because Han Se-gyeol had come to report something.
Before he had even gotten to the main point, he was already being chewed out by the president, whose irritation had risen to the top of his head.
Unfortunately, the issue he had come to report was also about Haesol Textile, so Han Se-gyeol hesitated slightly, looking at President Jeong with a troubled expression.
Jeong Man-sik caught the hesitation immediately.
“What is it? More bad news?”
“It’s about another company, but it’s not the kind of news that would make you happy to hear.”
“Enough. I already feel terrible, so go on.”
“...Haesol Textile seems to be acquiring a textile factory in Busan.”
His expression darkened at once, but soon President Jeong waved a hand dismissively.
“Good for them. If they want to expand into Japan or Southeast Asia anyway, the capacity they had wasn’t going to be enough. I told them to grow their scale, and they immediately went and bought one.”
“That’s right. If they’re thinking about local subsidiaries, acquiring a factory so supply won’t be an issue is the best choice. But...”
“But what?”
“The factory they’re acquiring is called Hwain Sangsa, and it was originally a military uniform supplier.”
“Military uniforms?”
“Yes. Surprisingly, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration seems to have taken an interest in Haesol Textile’s Dual-Tex. I heard the sample tests for military uniform supply have already been passed.”
Still blinking as he listened, President Jeong asked, “Damn it, everybody else is struggling to survive and they’re hogging the work all to themselves. How big is the order?”
“There’s talk that the first round alone will be at least 100,000 units. That would already amount to more than 7 billion won.”
President Jeong let out a long sigh.
“I should’ve invested in that company... This is why you have to follow foreign investors when you invest. Haah...”
“Exactly.”
“Did you send over the Windrover materials and concept?”
“The brand team sorted it out and sent everything yesterday. But honestly, they all seem to think there’s nothing really Haesol Textile can do for them.”
“Hmph! Tell them that just as much as they don’t believe in Haesol Textile, I don’t believe in them either.”
Han Se-gyeol had nothing to say, so he quietly looked away.
One month later, Hwain Sangsa factory in Busan.
Under Busan’s clear autumn sky, the Hwain Sangsa factory was lively for the first time in a long while.
A banner reading Haesol Sangsa Launch Ceremony hung at the factory entrance, and the employees wore new uniforms with expectant expressions.
In the conference room, Seung-hyun and CEO Kang Min-ho sat across from each other at the table and signed the contracts.
On the wall of the conference room, a new sign already read Haesol Sangsa.
“With this, Hwain Sangsa is officially part of Haesol Textile. From here on out, you’ll be starting fresh under the name Haesol Sangsa.”
At Seung-hyun’s declaration, the people gathered in the conference room broke into applause.
Relief and hope crossed Kang Min-ho’s face.
He bowed deeply to Seung-hyun.
“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Chairman Jung, our company has been given a chance to start over. You’ve given our employees a new life.”
He was old enough that, once the acquisition went through, he had originally planned to retire automatically, but since it looked as though there would be no one to lead the newly formed Haesol Sangsa, he had decided to keep the president’s post for the time being.
For him, monthly pay would keep arriving on time, so there was no reason to refuse.
Seung-hyun also signed the military uniform supply contract.
With that, Haesol Sangsa would now supply military uniforms to the Ministry of National Defense steadily for the next ten years.
There would be a re-evaluation five years later, but Seung-hyun wasn’t especially worried.
And even if things didn’t work out then, he was confident that the factory could be fully kept busy with Lesser Factory orders alone.
After the launch ceremony, Seung-hyun toured the factory with Park Han-soo, who had now become the new factory manager of Haesol Sangsa.
Park had already spent several trips to Busan inspecting the equipment and preparing for the takeover.
“The factory is in better shape than I expected. Some of the equipment will need replacing, but most of it can be used right away. We should be able to set up the Dual-Tex production line within two weeks.”
Seung-hyun nodded.
“Good. Let’s proceed with the military uniform orders as planned, and gradually expand into other product lines as well.”
“Understood.”
At one side of the factory, preparations for the first military uniform production run were already in full swing, and the employees’ faces had regained a long-lost energy.
Jobs that had been unstable for so long were finally finding their footing.
Seung-hyun took a deep breath as he looked out at the factory grounds through the window.
Haesol Textile had now grown into a mid-sized company with its Seoul headquarters, Factory No. 1 and Factory No. 2, and Haesol Sangsa in Busan.