The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 20
Only Noblemtl
20. Cold but warm winter (1)
After returning from China, my daily life was ordinary.
I would stop by the soju factory once every other day to check on production, and then the next day I would stop by the investment company to get a report on the investment status.
The expressions of those present at the executive meeting held at Toad F&B were bright.
“Did you have a nice trip to China? I heard you met the chairman.”
“Shanghai was able to withstand the winter, but Seoul is cold in the middle of winter. I am relieved that the Chinese market will continue to do well.”
“If export volumes remain the same as they are now, I have no worries.”
The managing director who had been hired as head of the management support division had a warm expression on his face.
When you run a business, no matter what happens, you must keep a close eye on the finance team.
If you take your eyes off the money going out, you never know what thieves might run wild in the middle. That’s why we brought in a seasoned financial expert from our food business and put him in the position of head of the management headquarters.
He was such a key figure that he received a disapproving glare from his father when he was brought in.
“After all, the water business is the most profitable business. It’s completely different from the food business.”
“As you know, the food business is controlled by the government, so there is a lot of interference. It is stable, but the income is not that big. Competition is fierce, so increasing market share is not easy. In addition, since it is directly connected to prices, various government departments interfere, even though they cannot say anything directly, and it is disgusting.”
“The same goes for alcohol. No, it’s even worse than food. Doesn’t the government control the production of alcohol and distribute it to soju companies? The prices are also set by the government. You don’t know how sharp the eyes of the National Tax Service employees are, who go to work every day to prevent tax theft. However, you can’t believe how good it is that they exempt alcohol from taxes because it’s an export product.”
As expected, the duty-free policy for exports was like a lifeline from heaven to the toads, or rather, a goose that laid golden eggs.
“Whenever the National Tax Service employees come to the company, they are speechless when they see the export volume. They often drool when they see the export proceeds.”
Park Sung-kyu agreed with Chief Do’s words.
“It’s only natural for them to see gold flowing in and out right before their eyes. I’m worried that the duty-free measures will disappear if things continue like this.”
“We don’t pay excise tax on exported goods, but we pay corporate tax at the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be strange to pay excise tax on exported goods just like we do on alcohol consumed domestically?”
The excise tax was created with the intention of collecting taxes conveniently. At one time, excise taxes accounted for 28% of government revenue.
As the economy developed, this percentage decreased year by year and has now fallen to 3%.
“The Ministry of Strategy and Finance is delighted that $100 million has been steadily coming in every month. Last time, I went to the bank, which is my main bank, and was treated as an envoy.”
The atmosphere while talking was friendly.
When the company was acquired, the number of unnecessary executives was drastically reduced, and even including directors, the number did not exceed seven.
The meeting was held with a small number of people, so it felt a bit cold.
As the big agenda items of installing additional factories were roughly finalized, I brought up the topic I had been meaning to mention.
“I felt something when I went to China this time. I think we need to establish branches in China and Russia.”
“The governor?”
Chief Park was delighted by my words. No, everyone present’s faces brightened.
“As the market size will continue to grow in the future, I plan to appoint him to the executive level.”
The number of branch managers has increased by two at once. If the number of managing directors has increased by two, who would be the target?
After sweeping away all the executives with ties to Chairman Lee Ho-yeon, the only executives left in the company are two managing directors and five directors.
In particular, the three directors under CEO Park Seong-gyu liked it.
The domestic sales department of Dugeobi Soju is an organization with a long history and tradition. There are many people who maintain close relationships with wholesalers, and as such, there was a serious backlog of promotions.
Once you come in, you won’t leave.
The background to Chairman Lee Ho-yeon’s victory over his eldest son and his rise to power at Dugeobi Soju was largely due to employees’ dissatisfaction with the backlog of personnel matters.
Perhaps because of this, President Lee Ho-yeon began expanding the company as soon as he took over management.
In the past five years, more than 25 companies were established or acquired. So the debt ratio rose significantly and it was unable to overcome the rough waves of the IMF.
Since the matter was brought up at the executive meeting, the appropriate person to be chosen was to be discussed between Director Park Seong-gyu and Director Jung Joo-in.
The next topic that came up was the expansion of the company. As the company accumulates profits, it naturally turns its attention to new businesses.
Executives who were former employees were negative.
“Why did a soju company buy a fur company and then a construction business? Of course, they bought it. Every company they acquired ended up in deficit and went out of business.”
For those of us who came from the toad family, it was a past that only made us sigh the more we talked about it.
A company with a conservative atmosphere has become even more conservative.
This atmosphere had to be changed.
“It’s not widely known in Korea, but there’s an American company called Berkshire Hathaway. It was originally a textile company, but a man named Warren Buffett bought it and turned it into an investment company. It achieved tremendous success and became a famous investment company in the United States. I think this is the path that Toads should take.”
Was there such a company? The executives looked at each other’s faces.
“When a company makes a profit, we invest that money in stocks of promising companies. Even if we acquire, we should do it properly. If we just buy something cheap, it’s like buying trash at a high price. We haven’t announced it to the public yet, but we are making huge profits from the fund invested by Dugeobi F&B. We plan to increase our investments as profits continue to grow. I am a completely different kind of investor than former Chairman Lee Ho-yeon. In order to survive, we need to buy good products at the lowest possible price and expand the company. This is not about investing for the sake of investing, but about expanding the company to make money.”
The executives were very nervous about my opening speech.
What I’m saying now is tantamount to determining their future.
“Regardless of your previous career, you are all executives of the company I own. Don’t worry about your position. If the company grows in the future and more positions are created, you will be able to move to the position of president of the company I acquired. I will do my best.”
Clap clap clap
Everyone applauded loudly at my words without saying anything. Not only was the company transformed from a shaky company with a bleak future to a promising company, but when the owner openly expressed his conviction that the company’s future prospects were bright, I felt like my vision was brightening up. Although it may seem childish to others, I have to say this often so that the executives know which direction I want to go.
“But is it true that you are investing in the United States?”
“Yes, I invest in the US stock market. I do it through an investment company and also personally through a separate corporation established in the US.”
“I heard you’re seeing a huge surplus···.”
“I don’t know where you heard it, but it’s true.”
Everyone nodded as if what I said was correct.
Rumors were already circulating within the company that I had invested in the American market, had made huge amounts of money, and was reaping enormous profits.
Chief Park, who had become quite close to me, quietly intervened.
“If you have any good investment information, please let me know.”
The chief, who had known me since I was young, was even more blunt.
“We’ve only known each other for a day or two, but if you have any good information, please let us know. If we make money, we’ll buy you some good alcohol later.”
“I guess you all have plenty of spare cash! Judging from the way you talk about investing.”
“Isn’t investing something you do to earn a little more money, not because you have money to spare? If the CEO recommends it, sell the apartment and go for it… No, if you do that, I’ll get beaten to death by my wife, so I’ll invest even if it means using it as collateral.”
I felt uncomfortable looking at the bright eyes of the middle-aged people looking at me with great anticipation.
“I’ll recommend it to you later when I get some good information.”
Everyone smiled with satisfaction at my words.
The faces of those who returned after the meeting were all bright. They were able to easily penetrate overseas markets that were unthinkable under the previous chairman.
All employees were hired without layoffs, and even colleagues who had left during difficult times returned. The company atmosphere could not help but be good.
After the executive meeting, I called in Director Cho Min-soo separately.
His face, which had entered the president’s office with a bright expression, darkened at my words.
“How about toad wine?”
The wine released by Dugeobi was of average quality, but it dominated the wine market based on its overwhelming price competitiveness.
The price of wine was 2,500 won, so there was no competition. However, the domestic market for wine was too small.
Last year’s sales were only 42 billion, so it would be fortunate if they didn’t see a deficit.
The product that was forced into the overseas sales department in a forced manner was toad wine.
The person in charge was Director Cho.
“Is this really a properly made drink?”
“The former chairman created this liquor with a focus on price competitiveness. The quality is a bit lacking.”
As everyone admits, it is a cheap drink, but it is not like wine.
It was literally a mixture of grape juice and soju.
It was so crude that at one point I even considered discontinuing it.
“Let’s make this work.”
“It’s difficult. It’s a product made because it can’t compete on price with imported foreign wines.
Director Cho responded skeptically. Wine made from domestic grapes was less competitive than those from France and Italy.
Domestic grapes are grown primarily for eating, but grapes in wine-producing regions are grown to make wine.
The varieties were completely different.
It also required a long maturation period. There are products that sell wine made from grapes picked that year, but the price is low.
Making proper wine takes a long time and a lot of money, and the quality and price of the wine produced are not satisfactory.
It wasn’t that some weird wine like toad wine came out of nowhere.
“I started out with the idea of making domestic wine, but I didn’t know it would be that difficult. The conclusion is that the current level of production is the best we can do. Growing grapes is not an easy task in our domestic climate.”
“Director Cho, why do you only plan to produce wine domestically? Aren’t there many vineyards overseas?”