The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 312



Only Noblemtl

312. Paradigm (1)

Rocket has officially opened.

The launch promotion was literally spent with money.

Whether I turned on the TV, listened to the radio, searched a portal, or used social media, Rocket advertisements were plastered all over the place.

To put it bluntly, I had no choice but to receive a proper slap.

The Director of Planning reported the very enthusiastic response from the market.

“The number exceeded 1 million in one day. Now, the number of subscribers has exceeded 1.3 million, and the trend in the graph is not slowing down, but is getting stronger.”

“It’s not enough to get those numbers through advertising alone. I think it’s even spreading through word of mouth.”

“The benefits of membership are so many that about 30% of subscribers are signing up for membership. And we are seeing unexpected effects as well. The number of subscribers to OTT, music sites, and game platforms related to Rocket membership is also increasing.”

As a membership benefit, I was able to use other services at a cheaper price.

So, it means that the number of members who have signed up for Rocket membership is also increasing as they sign up for other services.

“It’s not a bad situation.”

“It’s not just a bad situation; it couldn’t be better. It was recorded as the service that attracted the fastest number of subscribers in the history of Korean application distribution. And the number of customers who used the same-day delivery service reached 100,000 just yesterday. At this rate, “We can become number one in internet commerce market share in a short period of time.”

It was a game of chicken starting from first place.

Since we are pouring out benefits, it is natural that we will quickly attract subscribers.

Now the key was how much we could maintain, and we had to avoid going back to another e-commerce company to become the winner of the game of chicken.

“Soon, other e-commerce companies will also start large-scale discount events. If you give out a 1,000 won coupon, we will give you a 1,100 won coupon. If you give out a 10,000 won coupon, we will give you a 11,000 won coupon.”

“We will learn from the semiconductor market and brutally crush our competitors.”

“The game of chicken in the semiconductor market can cost tens of trillions of dollars. The e-commerce market may not require that amount of money, but please approach with that level of determination.”

“I will step on you very cruelly.”

To monopolize the e-commerce market, it was more than just good benefits.

The quality of the product must be superior to that of other companies so that customers can buy the product with confidence.

“Please manage your products thoroughly. There may be companies selling counterfeit products.”

“We are operating a one-out system. Sellers who sell counterfeit products can never sell products on Rocket again. And in the case of counterfeit products, Rocket has decided to provide a full refund.”

“There may be black consumers who abuse such a system. Don’t react too harshly. It will be difficult if you spread bad rumors for no reason.”

“As for the black consumer, we will deal with it after we win the game of chicken.”

Amazon also used this policy to increase its market share.

We implemented a policy of sending a new product instead of collecting it if an incorrect delivery was made.

We built trust with a policy of not placing any responsibility on the customer and taking all responsibility on the company.

“Tell Taewoo Boss not to worry about the deficit. In a game of chicken, the deficit accumulated is no different from a medal.”

“We are worried that the morale of Boss Taewoo’s employees may drop, so we are increasing company dinners and paying bonuses the same as other affiliates.”

The only affiliate of the Taewo Group experiencing large losses was Taewo Trading Co.

From underground resource development, e-commerce, and shipping business. These were all businesses that were losing money.

However, if they could endure the difficult times, they could grow into Korea’s best distribution company.

* * *

To win the game of chicken, an overwhelming competitive advantage was needed.

Other companies could easily follow suit by increasing benefits and distributing coupons.

So we needed a competitive advantage that other companies could never imitate.

To secure that competitive edge, I had a meal with Delphine from the Arnor family at a nice restaurant.

“Why does Chairman Kim always eat with me? He always makes excuses about being busy.”

“I think I’ve been wishing for Branch Manager Delphine for a while, so I arranged this event for you today. Isn’t it very difficult to live alone in Korea?”

“It’s not that difficult. Consumption of luxury goods in Korea and China is increasing significantly every year, so I’m getting more recognition from my family than before.”

Korea’s luxury goods market has also grown significantly.

It has now grown to 10 trillion won and is growing rapidly every year.

The Korean luxury goods market is expected to grow to 15 trillion won within 10 years, so there was nothing bad at all for Delphine, which is competing for successor.

“I have a business model that would give me more recognition from the family than I have now. Would you be interested?”

“We are always open to any business that Chairman Kim suggests.”

“It’s about making it possible to purchase luxury goods online. It’s about increasing the accessibility of luxury goods.”

Buy luxury goods online.

What if it can only be purchased on rockets serviced by Taewo Group?

If you can do that, you will be able to secure a competitive advantage over other e-commerce companies.

“Are you selling luxury goods online? Although I say this, Chairman Kim doesn’t seem to know much about the luxury goods market.”

“Are you referring to the rule that luxury goods should not be highly accessible?”

“Luxury goods are all about scarcity. If anyone just buys them on the Internet, the scarcity disappears. In the case of premium lines, there are cases where they are not even promoted at all on purpose.”

There was a saying that luxury goods that are popular among middle and high school students are going out of business.

Luxury goods famous for their checkered patterns were popular among British students in the 90s.

There were also cases where the brand image fell into disrepair as it was stigmatized as a gangster’s fashion.

It was the same with other brands.

It took a huge amount of time and money to revive the brand image once it had been tarnished.

Delphine was worried about that, and I knew that very well.

“I know that very well. So, how about not selling the high-priced lineup online, and only selling mid- to low-priced handbags, perfumes, and cosmetics online?”

“What the family hates the most is for the brand image to be tarnished.”

“That’s why we don’t sell our products to just anyone, but only to our VIP customers.”

Even in department stores, there were luxury goods that were only shown to VIPs.

There was no law preventing such policies from being used just because they were online.

“What does it mean to target VIP customers?”

“First, we will only allow customers who sign up for membership and spend more than 10 million won in three months to purchase luxury goods.”

“Under those conditions, it’s not bad.”

“If necessary, we will limit the quantity. If we limit sales to 500 units, wouldn’t we be able to maintain brand scarcity?”

First of all, it was important to tear down the wall.

If only a small portion of the Arnor family’s brands could be sold online.

The Anor family would realize the explosive power of the online market, and the rest of the brand’s products would take care of itself.

“I don’t think it’s something I can decide on my own. I’ll have to discuss it with the elders of the family before deciding.”

“This is a project that will be a turning point for the Anor family. And it is also a project that will bring great results to Branch Manager Delphine.”

“If I push for it and it fails, you know what happens, right? I could be pushed out as the heir to the family and end up only buying low-priced brands.”

“I will take responsibility.”

“······Please keep what I just said. I will actively persuade you to go online.”

What’s difficult about taking responsibility?

All that was needed was to revive the brand image through SNS or portal sites.

Or, I could have increased sales using my personal funds.

“I will definitely keep my promise.”

“Okay, then I’ll go to France within the week. But as expected, you called me to talk about work. Next time, I’d like to have a private meal instead of a business one.”

“After you return from France, we will arrange a private dinner for you.”

Delphine rinsed her mouth with wine and stood up.

Because it was an important project that could determine the successor structure, she left with her lips pursed.

* * *

A week later.

The Korean deputy manager of the Anor family visited the Taewo Group headquarters.

The deputy branch manager came to see me on behalf of the Delphine branch manager in France.

“I received a call from the branch manager. We have decided to sell several of the Anor family brands online. We decided to decide which products to enter the online market after discussing with Taew Group.”

“This is very good news. We will mobilize all of Taewo Group’s capabilities to decide on the brands and products to be launched. By the way, when will you come to Korea, branch manager?”

“He said he has a lot to take care of since it’s been a while since he went to the headquarters. He said he won’t be able to enter Korea until early next month at the earliest.”

I regretted not looking for a good restaurant.

It didn’t matter because I could eat later, but the important thing was that I had permission from the Anor family.

“I will send a working team straight to the Korean branch of the Anor family.”

“If the agreement goes well, I think we can have a few products in stores within this week. Then I’ll just head back.”

The deputy manager bowed his head slightly and went out.

I immediately called in the head of the planning office and told him about the conversation I had with the assistant manager.

“We will meet all conditions for the Anor family so that they can enter the store as quickly as possible.”

“Do that. And since you need to maintain scarcity, exclude luxury goods from discount events or coupon distribution events.”

“We will do that. And we are in the process of meeting with companies regarding frozen food and meal kits. More than a dozen companies are showing interest.”

They say that all you need for frozen food is a freezer.

In the case of fresh food, since its expiration date is short, distribution is only possible after accurate demand forecasting.

“You may suffer some losses in the beginning, so focus on understanding accurate demand forecasts during that period.”

“We have predicted demand to some extent using an algorithm created by the artificial intelligence team. We will focus on increasing accuracy for a month.”

The e-commerce market was like a combination of a large supermarket and a department store.

Home appliances, food, clothing, and even luxury goods.

It was important to make it possible to do all shopping at home without having to go to a large supermarket or department store, and Rocket was fully equipped with a system to make this possible.

“Once Rocket takes root, checks will come not only from e-commerce companies but also from companies that own large supermarkets or department stores.”

“There are no major checks in place, perhaps because they believe that their customer bases do not overlap yet.”

“So we need to increase our power explosively now so that we don’t miss the moment to check. Of course, if checks come in, we must respond strongly.”

“We will keep an eye on the movements of distribution companies 24 hours a day.”

In fact, it didn’t matter if it was checked.

Rather, I thought it would be nice to keep things in check.

Because we will be the first to use the company that keeps us in check as an example.