I’d Rather Live as a Villain - I’d Rather Live as a Villain chapter 58

58 It feels like a mishap is about to happen.

“Shinlong Coffee… May I ask from which hint this item was caught?”

Director Jang Ki-won seemed puzzled that I mentioned Shinlong Coffee here and now.

“If there’s a general, shouldn’t there also be a fool?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Grandfather. That is, I was deeply impressed by the mindset of Chairman Kang Ki-young when it came to business.

It was before I got married, when my wife was under severe stress due to stagnant sales growth related to the duty-free shop business.

I remember sweeping up her hair from the back seat of the car with my own hands, hair that seemed to fall out too easily, after sending her off to work and about to take the car for maintenance.

She was that sincere in her role as the head of distribution operations at the time, and she faced stress every single day.

It was then that grandfather said to her at a breakfast in Pyeongchang-dong:

In business, if there’s a general, there must also be a fool.

Even if you come up with a great plan and mobilize all strategies, when sales don’t increase, don’t just obsess over sales; think of ways to reorganize the team in a different direction.

When an attack doesn’t work, focus on defense, comforting the employees anxious about sales is also a tactic and strategy that a manager must learn, he said.

Instead of scolding my wife, who couldn’t generate sales at the time, he smiled warmly, saying what a great opportunity it was.

I couldn’t believe that such a warm smile could come from Kang Ki-young, a giant of the era.

And he continued to say:

At times like this, looking around at things you haven’t been able to pay attention to can also be a method.

As these methods accumulate into your inner strength, you’ll realize how trivial the current sales slump is.

Today, I still imitate Kang Ki-young, the giant of the era.

Until that imitation becomes completely my own, I have no intention of stopping imitating grandfather.

With the warm smile that grandfather showed to my wife that day, I said to Director Jang:

“Though it’s not visible, there seems to be a definite flow in business.”

“Flow…?”

“When that flow pushes us from behind, everything we touch explodes into success. Conversely, when the flow pushes against us as we try to move forward, it seems to happen. Then, if the numbers are good, people start causing problems, and just when it seems like those issues are getting resolved, an unexpected emergency pops up and pushes us back again. It’s one trouble after another.”

“……”

“The current state of the China division is known for that. The China division, which once threatened the European sector with soaring sales, saw its momentum sharply decline due to international politics. Employees with heightened expectations from sales, an organization unable to escape the glory of its heyday. Eventually, the employees cause problems. Energy that should be poured into the business is instead used to watch each other and shift responsibility, or to slander someone to free oneself from that responsibility, to create factions…”

Director Jang Ki-won clenched his mouth shut, breathing hot breaths through his nose, head bowed.

“The current China division, Director, it’s time to acknowledge the flow. It’s not the time to call for a general to recover the continued poor sales. Wouldn’t it be wiser to focus on defense?”

“Are you suggesting we defend with Xinlong Coffee?”

“Create a brand for Daeyoung, not just the sales of the China division. The flow will surely return someday. If the defense is solid, that is.”

His lips seemed quite chapped.

He hid his lower lip inside his mouth, biting it off, drop by drop.

“That’s the village made by the Chinese Indonesians who returned, right? I remember it being about a 30-minute drive further into the Xinju Peninsula.”

At my words, Director Jang Ki-won nodded once and said,

“That business started with government support as the third and fourth generations of those Chinese Indonesians settled in Hainan.”

There’s this crazy coffee.

Personally, I regard Xinlong Coffee as the Bordeaux wine of coffee, the Château Briand of coffee.

A coffee that captured the completely opposite tastes of me and my wife.

My wife won’t drink anything but strong coffee.

On the other hand, I prefer coffee that’s smooth and mild.

Despite our polar opposite preferences, we both praised the coffee, wondering if we really ordered the same menu, asking what kind of coffee this was.

Like brewing a medicinal tonic, the coffee is boiled with the grounds and then strained through a cloth.

And instead of sugar or milk, condensed milk is provided to mix according to taste. I remember drinking two cups on the spot when I first experienced Xinlong Coffee.

Of course, not all coffee strained through cloth is called Xinlong Coffee.

It’s just one way to brew coffee; they also serve it in the usual way.

At that time, my wife and I experienced a house that served the original due to the local coffee pride.

“I’ve heard that the coffee from Xinlong village in China has its makers.”

“People who know coffee are aware of that. Although China is much stronger in tea culture, almost nine out of ten Chinese who have enjoyed coffee for a long time have encountered Xinlong Coffee.”

“Why don’t you try making capsules with that coffee?”

“Capsules??”

I nodded once and said,

“Right now, Daeyoung Distribution’s FP business division is staking everything on the coffee shop business. The details were all set before I came over to the commodities division, so I might know the content better than the division head there.”

“……”

“We’re preparing to enter Mongolia. It seems there’s too much risk in targeting the Chinese market directly. It’s not unreasonable. It’s not ten years ago; entering the Chinese market with a coffee shop now is not easy.”

“Already, China is overflowing with its own coffee shop brands compared to ten years ago.”

“Exactly. And yet, the Chinese market is indispensable for companies in this country that see exports as the only answer. The FP division of distribution feels the same.”

With that, I extended the business card of Deputy Manager Im Hyung-jun to Director Jang, implying that my role in this project ends here.

Director Jang Ki-won, who had been staring at the business card I placed on the table for a while, turned his gaze back to me and began to look at me.

“It seems they want to test the waters for international market expansion through the Mongolian market. The direction doesn’t seem wrong, but I wonder why they’re doing it. The people in the FP division of distribution. They’re like greenhouse flowers in business. Completely different from us. Statistics, analysis, data… They think a project can’t happen without those.”

Director Jang Ki-won tilted his head, silently waiting for what I would say next.

“I was the one who introduced the Marco Machine there.”

“You hit the jackpot.”

“I naturally thought the next step would be to turn those machine capsules, the beans, into potions. What a great opportunity, right? An opportunity to develop new menu items for establishments by creating various coffee flavors not as menu items but as capsules, beans, to gauge consumer response and market potential.”

Only then did it seem like the picture I was painting was also taking shape before Director Jang’s eyes.

“But now, they’re knocking on the Mongolian market door with a coffee shop brand.”

“Our approaches are indeed very different. Ah… I see. Listening to you, Director, and picturing it, Shinlong Coffee could be a powerful trump card for the FP division of distribution in entering the Chinese market.”

“If distribution succeeds in that market entry alone, our European division could also release the Marco Machine in China. But looking at what they’re doing now, it’s as if they’ve created another ceiling for themselves after finally breaking through one.”

“Maybe having a ceiling feels safer to them.”

“The limitations of the distribution organization could be the issue. Living there, I’ve often thought about it. They’re good at laying things out and securing channels, but creating something from nothing, it’s frustratingly inept from a bystander’s perspective.”

“Shinlong Coffee… I’ll look into it more. Whether it’s already been capsulized or not.”

“It hasn’t. I paid a lot of attention to the coffee shop brand of the FP division when I was in distribution. It doesn’t exist yet. Would it matter if it did?”

“Well. There’s no reason for it to matter.”

“This time, with Shinlong Coffee, try creating Daeyoung’s own brand in the China division, not just increasing sales. I believe it will be a much more meaningful endeavor for the current China division than just raising sales by a few percent.”

“Would the FP division of distribution accept it?”

From noble mtl dot nete

Before that question, I returned the words that Director Jang, who was once the head of the China division office, had promised me long ago when he agreed to take the olive oil I had planned.

“If the product is good, the market won’t discriminate. That’s what you told me, Director. Do you remember?”

At that, Director Jang began to hold back his laughter, his cheeks noticeably rising.

To Director Jang, I said,

“Not as the head of the European division, but from the perspective of someone who’s occasionally called to Pyeongchang-dong.”

“…”

“I thought it was important for the employees of the China division, for the entire division, to be free from the pressure of sales, even for a moment. Please look elsewhere. I will continue to support and believe in you and your China division until it rises again.”

* * *

Cherry blossom petals are fluttering all over the streets.

The view from the vice-chairman’s office of Yuseong Cosmo is also filled with cherry blossoms.

The advertisement video for department stores and duty-free shops produced by Daeyoung Distribution for the first half of the year has been released to the world.

Holding the tablet over this matter, Executive Director Gong Woo-yeol stood in the Vice Chairman’s office, hands respectfully clasped in front of him, maintaining his position until the Vice Chairman had reviewed the content.

“Did Moon Jung create a department store and duty-free advertisement, or did she end up making a PR advertisement for the group?”

Executive Director Gong Woo-yeol himself was greatly surprised when he first saw the advertisement.

He had already known that the advertisement had been snatched up by Daeyoung Planning.

It was true that he had been paying more attention to the quality of the advertising campaign being conducted by Daeyoung Distribution this time than usual.

“I saw it quite the opposite.”

“The opposite? How so?”

“I thought President Kang Moon-jung had brought over the long history of Daeyoung Group, as well as the image of the entire group’s infrastructure, to Daeyoung Distribution through this advertisement.”

Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im replayed the advertisement video, seemingly agreeing that there was some merit to that view.

Watching the video again after hearing Executive Director Gong’s words, it did seem that way.

He had already thought quite highly of it when he considered that they had disguised a department store and duty-free advertisement to create a PR advertisement for Daeyoung Group.

But now, viewing the advertisement again with the thoughts Executive Director Gong had, it seemed a more accurate interpretation that they had naturally incorporated the entire image and infrastructure of Daeyoung Group into Daeyoung Distribution.

A pleasant smile began to spread across Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im’s face.

“Our nephew-in-law isn’t just a flash in the pan; he truly shines, doesn’t he?”

“But this case has nothing to do with Executive Director Yoon Tae-sik of Daeyoung Industries; it’s an advertisement for distribution, isn’t it?”

Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im shook her head with conviction at Executive Director Gong’s words.

“It’s not Moon Jung’s style. And it’s not like Moon Jung, who strictly follows her father’s footsteps, wouldn’t know the significance of her first executed department store and duty-free advertisement as president to the distribution president, would she have entrusted it to the PR team?”

“…”

“It must have been my sparkling husband who gave her the hint. The landlord in Pyeongchang-dong will be delighted. She picked out something that would exactly please that landlord. Ha! The more I see our nephew-in-law, the more interesting he gets?”

Over the past month.

The Vice Chairman had been showing a deep curiosity towards Executive Director Yoon Tae-sik of Daeyoung Industries.

After taking a deep breath, Executive Director Gong Woo-yeol cautiously opened his mouth.

“Shall we arrange a meeting?”

“Am I collecting information on my nephew-in-law, or does it make sense to have someone set up a meeting just to see his face?”

Replay once more.

While replaying the same advertisement for the third time from her seat, Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im said,

“And what would I say if I met him now? It’s not like we’re meeting naturally, and it’s not worth setting up a meeting just for that. Executive Director Gong.”

“Yes.”

“Sell all of Daeyoung Chemical’s stocks, except for 30 percent. Sell them all and switch to Daeyoung Industries stocks.”

“All 70 percent of them?”

“Sure. If I exclude everything, Young-jin might feel unnecessarily slighted.”

“Are you suggesting we should invest in Daeyoung Industries stocks, not Daeyoung Distribution?”

“The distribution has already peaked. And if we secure more shares here, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for those in Pyeongchang-dong?”

At that, Executive Director Gong swallowed hard and nodded.

“In my eyes, the top-performing stock of Daeyoung right now is undoubtedly Industries. It seems like something big might happen there.”