Entering Japan, Part 2
Time flowed like a running stream, and before long, half a year had already passed.
The factory needed more and more hands as time went on, and the equipment increased one by one until the place was packed full, running day and night without a pause.
People grew more and more familiar with Lesser Factory and GyeolBit bedding, and the money flowing into the corporate account kept rising to the point that it almost seemed improper to be making that much.
Along with that, old faces would occasionally show up at the company.
Factory owners who had once been close with his father...
As if by agreement, they had gone completely silent after the funeral wreaths and condolence calls, but now that the company had not only survived but grown even larger, they kept coming by to ask whether there was any work for them. In the end, though, they always had to go back empty-handed.
Every time Seung-hyun saw them, he was reminded of his father, and the aftertaste was inevitably bitter.
All the while, Seung-hyun had devoted himself to fabric development, and from time to time he made an effort to travel in search of new inspiration.
He had hoped to stumble upon another flash of insight like the one he’d felt when he saw Gobelins tapestry in a small shop in Paris, but unfortunately experiences like that did not come easily. He still hadn’t found anything he could point to and call the one.
And now, time had carried him all the way here, to tomorrow, the day Lesser Factory’s first store in Japan would finally open.
Over the past six months, Haesol Textile had achieved astonishing growth, but faced with the new challenge of entering Japan, his heart was still full of tension.
“President?”
Seung-hyun, who had been sitting alone in the conference room, lost in thought, snapped back to himself at the sound of Hwang Seok-jae’s voice.
Before he knew it, Hwang Seok-jae had come in carrying a report.
“Ah, yes.”
Hwang Seok-jae switched on the projector, and a graph showing Haesol Textile’s remarkable growth appeared on the screen.
The upward curve shot steeply into the sky.
“As for the GyeolBit bedding line, monthly sales at Mirae Department Store alone have surpassed 2 billion won. Since appointing Han Saet-byeol as ambassador, it has established itself as the core item for VIP customers, with a reputation as the best high-end bedding in the country.”
Seung-hyun nodded with a satisfied expression.
The strategy of putting Han Saet-byeol forward as the ambassador at Cha Hee-ju’s suggestion had been a major success.
“Overseas exports have also continued to increase, and we’re currently generating an average of 4 billion won a month in Europe alone. Hmm... the disappointing part is that growth has slowed significantly there because of competition with Frette.”
“I know.”
Since Antoine, the chairman of Loro Piana, had already told him roughly what was going on, Seung-hyun understood the circumstances and did not worry too much.
After all, domestic sales in Korea alone were already enough to keep the company generating solid revenue.
Hwang moved on to the next slide.
“Royalty income through Roche Bobois is averaging about 700 million won a month. With additional contracts secured after the success of the Versailles line, it has become a stable source of revenue.”
Seung-hyun felt especially proud of this part.
It was proof that his decision to propose the deal as a technology transfer had been the right one.
In fact, the art fabric had been the very thing that pulled Haesol Textile through its crisis, and now that the company was continuing to earn from that same technology, the feeling was almost moving.
“As for the military uniform supply, royalty income through technology transfer to Daeyang Trading is running at around 500 million won a month. Additional defense contracts are also under discussion, so that revenue is expected to rise further.”
Hwang moved on to the final slide.
“Lastly, Lesser Factory expanded its offline stores to ten over the past six months, and sales have increased more than fivefold. Monthly revenue has now surpassed 6 billion won, and when online sales are included, it comes close to 8 billion.”
Hwang Seok-jae’s face lit with pride as he reported the numbers.
Just two years ago, this had been a small textile factory on the brink of collapse. Now it had grown into a company with annual sales comfortably exceeding 100 billion won.
“We’ve become a company with average monthly sales well over 10 billion won. The office building you mentioned before, President, is no longer a joke; we’ve reached the point where it’s a serious option. And if you were to consider going public, it would be more than possible.”
Seung-hyun fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, then spoke.
“It’s still strange to me too... how things ended up like this. I struggled just to survive, started one thing after another, and somehow everything worked out and brought me all the way here...”
“This is all thanks to your astonishing ability, President. The same goes for Art Fabric and DualTex, and for Urbantex as well. In fact, the sales we’re looking at here don’t even include the revenue that will come in from Urbantex. Since Hanil Global’s WindRover line, newly built around Urbantex, is due to be released soon, there’s no telling how much more revenue that will add... And because royalty income is pure profit, revenue of the same amount is naturally far healthier than what other companies can claim.”
“Yes, that’s the advantage of a company with real technology. Even I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, startled, wondering if this isn’t all a dream.”
“Hahaha! It really is a world turned upside down.”
After thinking it over for a while, Seung-hyun hesitated and then said, “Part of me wants to build something like an office building and say to my father, ‘Look, your son made it.’ But I want to be a little more careful. Tomorrow the Japan store opens, and I think it would be better to wait and see how that goes before deciding. After we confirm our potential in the global market, it won’t be too late to draw a bigger picture.”
Hwang nodded.
“Yes, I understand completely. In any case, Haesol Textile has now firmly stepped up into a mid-sized company. We’ll proceed according to your judgment, President.”
After he left, Seung-hyun sat alone in the conference room and looked at the various pieces of clothing designs hanging on the wall.
They had all been created after he took over as president.
What else would end up being added here in the future?
Just thinking about it already made him eager for what was to come.
*
The next day, Shibuya, Tokyo.
In Shibuya L-Court shopping mall, on the second floor in front of the Lesser Factory store, the local staff were already bustling about from early morning.
They were surely employees trained and assigned by Hanil Global’s local subsidiary.
Seung-hyun and A-young arrived early and checked the store’s final preparations.
Watching the employees busily preparing for the opening, A-young brought both hands together and smiled awkwardly as she recalled the days of preparing for the original launch in Hongdae.
“I’m nervous.”
“Me too. But we’ve done everything we can, haven’t we? Now it’s time to see how the market reacts. Hmm... I think it’ll go well.”
He could sound so confident because he had already toured the shops in this area and checked their product appeal himself.
A-young stared at him with her mouth slightly open, clearly envious of that confidence, then stomped her feet and muttered that she just hoped his words would come true.
The inside of the store had been arranged in a clean, refined style.
A large poster of Han Saet-byeol hung at the entrance, and Lesser Factory’s signature items were displayed in the center of the store.
The different Lesser Factory lines made from DualTex fabric were lined up neatly, making it obvious that Hanil Global’s local subsidiary had put a great deal of effort into the launch.
At 10 a.m., the store finally opened.
The staff raised the shutter and swung the doors wide open, but contrary to expectations, people did not easily come inside.
Passersby only looked at the new store with curious eyes and did not immediately step in.
Seeing that, A-young shrank back completely.
“They must be cautious since it’s a brand they’re seeing for the first time.”
“That makes sense. We’re still a strange brand in Japan, after all. You remember how our Hongdae opening wasn’t some huge explosion either, right?”
“Ah... right. It was only after Han Saet-byeol posted that video on social media that customers started flooding in. But here, Han Saet-byeol is right there on the poster...”
“Haha, let’s wait and see.”
Just as Seung-hyun had said, the young women who had initially hesitated eventually stepped into the store, drawn in by the GRAND OPENING SALE banner or perhaps by the poster with Han Saet-byeol’s image front and center.
Then, carefully, they began browsing the clothes inside.
After checking the prices first and finding that they were lower than expected, the young women relaxed and started looking through the racks more freely.
When the local staff came over and explained the features of the functional fabric, their interest grew even stronger, and in the end they bought several items.
“Phew, finally we’re open.”
A-young, who had been watching the customers inside the store, let out a relieved breath and stroked her chest.
“Let’s stop worrying and go eat.”
“Yes, let’s.”
The two of them ate a late lunch while watching the people passing through Shibuya, taking in the fashions on the street.
By afternoon, more and more customers began to appear.
Most had been drawn in by the opening-sale banner and Han Saet-byeol’s image, but after checking the actual products, they seemed satisfied with the quality and the price.
Even if he did not know the exact amount being rung up, the fact that people kept lining up at the register suggested that sales for a first day were not bad at all.
Seung-hyun looked over at A-young, whose expression had brightened considerably, and said, “I thought we’d have a pretty rough time on the first day, but this is better than I expected.”
“Really?”
At that moment, a familiar face appeared in front of the store.
It was Okada Sota, the man who had made a bet with Seung-hyun six months earlier.
He looked around the store with curious eyes, then spotted Seung-hyun and A-young and approached them with a broad smile.
“Oh, you really did open.”
After A-young translated, Seung-hyun smiled and replied, “It almost sounds like you were waiting for us.”
“Haha, of course. Every time I stepped into a store like this, it was all doom and gloom, so I wondered whether this time might be different. Now I’ll get to see the result.”
“What do you think? Of our store, I mean.”
“Hmm... just a moment.”
Okada looked around the store and examined the products.
He was still wearing a flat cap and a somewhat old-fashioned suit, so he did not seem to know much about fashion, but Seung-hyun wondered whether he still had his own standards for such things.
After wandering around for quite a while, he came back and said, “The design seems simple and not especially flashy. The price is also a bit...”
“You mean low?”
“That’s right. At this price, it would be hard to cover the rent in a place like this. You’d have to sell an enormous amount. And look outside. Like I said before, there aren’t that many people here, are there?”
At his words, Seung-hyun smiled with confidence.
“Don’t worry. We’re competitive enough. And even if it doesn’t look crowded right now, our advertisement model will be holding a signing event here soon, which will attract attention and make things much better than they are now.”
Okada nodded with an expression that was hard to read, somewhere between amusement and pity.
“I hope so... but reality won’t be easy.”
After taking one last look around the store, he left. There was still doubt all over his face.
*
Toward evening, at Okada’s home in Roppongi Hills.
This vast apartment was the sort of place most people could only dream of, a super-luxury residence worth more than 10 billion won at market price.
And yet, even while living in a place like that, the face of the man sitting absentmindedly in the living room looked terribly lonely and dark.
It was almost impossible to imagine that this was the same man who had been so full of life when he made a bet with Seung-hyun outside.
With a clattering sound, a small woman who looked just over twenty came in.
She shuffled in as though exhausted, then ignored Okada, who was her father, and disappeared straight into her room.
Even though he wanted to speak to her, he had no idea how to start, so Okada, looking embarrassed, focused on the TV he had been watching.
After a long while, his daughter came out in comfortable clothes and rummaged through the refrigerator.
“Want me to make you something?”
“No.”
Okada turned back to the TV.
He lowered the volume of the noisy baseball broadcast a little and paid attention to his daughter’s movements.
But the grown daughter did not speak to her father. She just spread butter on bread and focused on the video on her phone.
Still staring blankly at the baseball game, Okada awkwardly got to his feet, went into the kitchen, and asked, “Want me to toast it for you?”
“I’ll just eat it as it is.”
“Oh? Really?”
Okada took a bottle of water from the refrigerator, then started back toward the living room and stopped when he saw the video his daughter was watching.
“Uh... is that a drama? But this woman looks familiar somehow.”
His daughter said irritably, “Of course she does. She’s a celebrity!”
Startled by her raised voice and scolding tone, Okada flinched, then said again, “There’s a clothing store in Shibuya that she advertises...”
Only then did his daughter look away from the video and turn to him.
“Huh? How do you know that, Dad?”
“It opened today, didn’t it? And I heard the model was going to come and do a signing event.”
The daughter blinked at him and asked, “Wait, Han Saet-byeol is really coming here?”
“Yeah. That’s what he said.”
“Who did?”
“The owner of the clothing store that opened in Shibuya.”
At that, her eyes lit up.
“I want to go to that signing event.”