Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 98



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 98

20-New Products

When Holden was left speechless at Zarran’s question, Samuel spoke.

“I guess I have no choice but to go the proper way.”

“If it’s the right method?”

“Honestly, we make good products and sell them at good prices.”

To this, Jarani replied.

“It’s not something that can be said so easily.”

Selling good products honestly at good prices sounds good. But the world doesn’t revolve around idealism.

Why did merchants form guilds? It wasn’t just to protect themselves by increasing their size. It was to provide appropriate guidelines so that everyone wouldn’t go broke due to cutthroat competition trying to sell good products at good prices.

“What do you think, Arthur?”

Mrs. Zeltney asked Arthur for his opinion. She believed that since he was the one who created the new product and set up this place, he would have thought of a sales strategy. She knew Arthur well enough to do so.

“Technology leakage is inevitable. So we have to move towards quality and sophistication.”

“So, isn’t it a good product and a good price?”

Arthur shook his head at Samuel’s question.

“Good quality, good price.”

“If the quality is good, isn’t it obviously high-end?”

Arthur shook his head at Cho-reng’s words.

“Being technologically advanced does not mean being sophisticated. How many customers would understand how great it is to be technologically advanced?”

If technological superiority meant higher prices, there would be no reason for antiques to be expensive. Technological superiority was simply one of many reasons why a product should be expensive, and it was not necessarily accepted by consumers.

Arthur continued.

“Premium is about putting in people’s heads the idea that this is worth paying that much for. Mr. Jaran or Mr. Samuel, you get it, right?”

Since luxury falls into the category of commercialism, Jaran and Samuel fully understood.

“But to do that, the product has to be cool. It has to be of such quality that it makes customers want to buy it.”

As Arthur spoke to Holden, Zara intervened.

“Are you planning to entrust production to your guild?”

“Yes, because they are the most reliable producer.”

Since Arthur was a member, there was trust between them.

He also contributed to the advancement of the Tsuraz Craft Guild to the capital, and as a guild member, he paid a large fee without complaint. Could it be that a relationship of trust has been formed where Arthur’s work is beneficial to the guild?

Jaran nodded to Arthur’s words. If Arthur entrusted the production to the guild he belonged to, the possibility of the technology leaking was low. And above all, there seemed to be no other place that could manufacture this music box, a seemingly complex mechanical device, as reliably and cheaply as the industrial city of Tsuraz.

“Then we will take care of sales.”

“The monopoly is a bit like that.”

Holden intervened. As the head of the Tsuraz Capital Branch, he had a duty to maximize the guild’s profits.

As a merchant, I couldn’t just sit still.

“But didn’t Arthur say that we’re going to go luxury? Selling luxury products is what our company does best.”

“But Mato Trading Company isn’t the only company that handles high-end products, right?”

Holden and Jaran started a snowball fight. Holden knew that competition would get him a better price than monopolization.

Then Arthur intervened.

“Don’t be so excited. I don’t intend to supply exclusively to Mato Trading Company anyway.”

“Hey~ That’s all we have between us… … . That’s disappointing?”

Arthur answered as Samuel spoke in a regretful tone.

“You know that the more monopolized you are, the more likely you are to have technology leaks and copycat attempts. What we need to do is to make our potential competitors as comfortable as possible and widen the gap. At least, we need to make people think that we are the best in the market where this product is sold.”

This time, Arthur was aiming for branding. Branding was the alpha and omega of product marketing.

And Arthur’s plan was to leave the branding to Mato Trading Company.

“Our competitors may be able to copy our product, but they can’t copy the mindset we’ve built in people’s heads that our product is the best.”

Jaran nodded several times with a satisfied expression. If I were to describe his expression in words, I could say, “He’s a genius!”

“So what are you going to do?”

“We must show kindness to those above us first.”

Arthur revealed that he plans to make a top-of-the-line music box. He said that making it first and then showing it to the upper class is a priority.

Then Cho-reng said.

“You can listen to this music anytime, anywhere. If it’s like that, it should sell everywhere.”

“We will release the products that are made purely for that purpose as mid- to low-priced products. And that is something that I will have to argue with the two people here at Mato Trading Company. Oh, of course, we will not do it here.”

The mid- to low-priced music box business was to be started later, when the music box was properly engraved in people’s minds and the public’s demand for one had matured. Is it still too early?

Arthur continued.

“If this business is successful, it will be very profitable. If it is not successful, it will be a small profit. In other words, it is stupid not to do it. However, it requires a lot of preparation to do it properly, and one of them is the rights to music.”

“The right to music… … .”

Cho-reng was lost in thought as Arthur gazed at her.

Institutional arrangements for rights to music, especially to compositions, were inadequate.

So how do composers make a living? It was through the publication of sheet music. That level of rights was guaranteed. Then, performers would buy sheet music and perform it.

However, the reality of today is that not everyone can enjoy music. The reason Arthur sells music boxes to the nobles is not as a “tool to play music” but as a “luxury item that also plays music” because the nobles had good access to music.

Cho-reng, who had been lost in thought, opened his mouth.

“I’m going to need a lawyer for this. It’s going to be quite a legal headache.”

“It would be better to prepare in advance for the future. If you get involved in a lawsuit for using the song without permission later, you will waste your energy on useless things. And you should prevent other competitors from making music boxes with Amelia singing in them.”

Cho-reng nodded in agreement as the image of his cute disciple came to mind.

“Then I’ll talk to a lawyer about the rights to use the music. I have a smart friend I recently met.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Holden?”

“Yes, sir!”

Holden felt that things were progressing smoothly and his guard was raised. Arthur must have called him because he had something to do.

As if his intuition was not wrong, Arthur gave Holden an order disguised as a request.

“I will soon be ordering the necessary parts from the guild. The entire assembly requires confidentiality, so I will personally send a letter to the guild management later.”

Holden decided to strengthen his logistics and communication network with the Truzas in preparation for that time.

The production part hadn’t even started yet, so he had to keep an eye on it as it progressed, but by handing over some of the work to Holden, Arthur was able to reduce his workload considerably.

He then discussed sales strategies with Jaran, Samuel, and Mrs. Zeltney.

“Are you selling this as a product at the Ridis Salon again?”

Just as Arthur became the exclusive jeweler at Lydis Salon and sold his own jewelry.

Arthur shook his head at Samuel’s question. Then Jaran asked a question.

“But isn’t it faster that way?”

The brand power of the Ridis Salon will also be of great help in branding the music box.

But Arthur shook his head.

“It would certainly help to raise awareness of the Ridis Salon, but it would be problematic if the music box were to be recognized as a Ridis Salon product.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t Lydis Salon a dress shop?”

Clearly, if music boxes were sold as a product of the Ridis Salon, the market could be created quickly and recognition could be gained. However, if that were to happen, the identity of the Ridis Salon would become ambiguous.

If the brand identity of dresses for women’s beauty is shaken, it will not be beneficial in the long run.

First of all, the question arises as to who owns the Ridis Salon.

Although it is nominally Madame Zeltny’s who founded Lydis’ Salon, what if the music boxes start selling better than her dresses and people start to think of Lydis’ Salon as a music box store rather than a dress store?

Since Madame Zeltney cannot make music boxes herself, she is dragged around by Arthur unless she gives up the brand called Lydis Salon. It is like the paradox of master and slave, with the roles reversed.

She asked.

“So you’re saying you’re creating a separate brand?”

“Yes. I think it might become our guild’s official brand.”

Arthur answered Mrs. Zeltney’s question.

As a specialty of the Tsuuraz Craft Guild, producing music boxes had more advantages than disadvantages in many ways.

In particular, the key point was that the pocket watch and music box, which were the specialty products of the current Tsuraz Craft Guild, had a lot of structural overlap. If the core of the pocket watch, the escapement and the reciprocating governor, were replaced with a centrifugal governor, the mechanism that operated the music box could be considered to be about 90% complete.

Of course, the heart of the music box was in the remaining 10%: the music to be recorded on the cylinders, and the gear ratio adjustments for the playback speed.

“It’s a shame that it’s not sold in my store.”

“It’s not that they don’t sell at all, but in that case, they should be sold as some kind of event product that is strictly tailored to the Ridis Salon. For example, they should be prepared only for VIPs, or they should be given as a gift through a drawing only for those who purchase over a certain amount.”

Is this some kind of collaboration?

“That’s genius!”

Arthur couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the magic he had never heard of before, and Samuel quickly took note of what Arthur had said.

Arthur looked at Samuel and said,

“You’re not offering to use this idea for free, are you?”

“Hey, where’s the free lunch between us?”

Samuel, the merchant, was certain that nothing was free, even among close friends, and Arthur added:

“And this idea is first worked out at the Ridis Salon and then used.”

“of course.”

Samuel nodded.

Arthur then explained the rest of the strategy. Everyone listened to his story.

* * *

The noble ladies and young ladies who came across the new products at the Ridis Club immediately expressed their intention to purchase them.

The cute and adorable box, like a small jewelry box, and the soft music it made when opened were so amazing that they stimulated the desire to buy among noble ladies and young ladies.

I think the product name was music box?

But soon they were disappointed. Since it was a sample, it was not for sale yet, and if they placed an order, the music box with the desired music would be delivered after a certain period of time… … .

However, since the famous Mato Trading Company guaranteed it, the ladies and young ladies who visited the Ridis Club waited with excitement for about a month.