Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 348

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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348. I’ve been tiptoeing around for so long, but now that I’ve actually tried throwing my weight around a bit, I have to admit—it feels surprisingly good.

Seoul Taepyeongno, Sasung Electronics Headquarters.
Ahn Byung-seok, president of Digital Wave, and Manager Yoon Nam-ho stepped into the spacious lobby with its polished synthetic marble floors.
Though they had visited several times before, the very name of this conglomerate—one that rivaled Hyunwoo Group for the top position in the business world—cast such an imposing shadow that merely entering the lobby made them feel diminished and small.
As the two men approached the information desk, a Female Secretary in a crisp uniform greeted them with a warm smile.

“Welcome. How may I help you?”
“We’re here to meet with Park In-bae from the Sales Department.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes. If you mention Digital Wave, he’ll know who we are.”
“Please wait just a moment.”

The Female Secretary, still smiling, picked up the intercom and connected to the Sales Department.

“There are visitors from Digital Wave here to see Park In-bae. Ah. Yes. I understand.”

The Female Secretary quickly hung up and pointed with one hand toward the elevator on the left.

“Please take the elevator to the fifth floor.”
“Thank you.”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho nodded and walked with President Ahn Byung-seok past the Security Guard standing beside the information desk toward the elevator.

“It would be so much easier if we could just head straight to the office. Having to check in at the information desk every single time is incredibly inconvenient. Don’t you think?”
“They say it’s for security reasons.”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho shrugged as he replied.

“The research facility isn’t even here—it’s somewhere else. So why do we have to go through all these procedures?”
“If you’re that unhappy about it, why don’t you ask Park to change the policy?”
“Tch. Well, I’m just saying, you know.”

President Ahn Byung-seok, who had been complaining, immediately backed down and muttered under his breath.

“Sigh.”

At this sight, Yoon Nam-ho, who was also a junior colleague from university, shook his head with disapproval.
The two of them rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and entered the Sales Department office, where Park In-bae, dressed in a white dress shirt and blue tie, was waiting and extended his hand first to greet them.

“Welcome.”

After shaking hands with the two visitors, Park In-bae promptly led them deeper into the office.

“Let’s head straight to the consultation room.”

Then, in a casual tone, he spoke to the Female Secretary who was seated near the entrance.

“Miss Go. Please bring three cups of coffee to the consultation room.”
“Of course.”
“Come this way, please.”

Park In-bae led the way and opened the door to the consultation room set aside on one side.
Though called a consultation room, it was nothing elaborate—just a space of about forty square meters furnished with a long table and chairs, arranged to allow for quiet conversation.
Park In-bae, seated with a Sasung Electronics logo diary open before him, spoke in a businesslike manner, looking at Ahn Byung-seok and Yoon Nam-ho, who sat side by side across from him.

“You mentioned you wanted to purchase 64-megabyte flash memory.”
“That’s correct.”

In response to Ahn Byung-seok’s answer, Park In-bae pulled out a small calculator and tapped away as he spoke.

“Let me see. Today’s exchange rate is 880 won, so at 55 dollars per unit, that comes to 48,400 won in Korean currency.”

After finishing his calculation, Park In-bae looked up and continued.

“If you order 50,000 units, that would be 2.42 billion won. Of course, as this is your first transaction with us, you’ll understand that payment must be made in cash.”

Just then, the Female Secretary knocked and entered carrying a tray, interrupting the conversation briefly.
After the Female Secretary set down the coffee and left, Yoon Nam-ho opened his mouth to continue the discussion.

“Could you reduce the price per unit from 48,400 won just a bit?”
“That’s not possible.”

Park In-bae leaned back against his chair and flatly refused.

“With Intel Pentium II computers launching in full force, aren’t 64-megabyte memory prices dropping significantly?”
“We factored that in and set it at fifty-five dollars per unit. Considering it was one hundred twenty dollars just through the second half of last year, that’s half price.”
“Still, given the recent sharp decline in memory prices, we’re asking you to adjust the supply price.”

As Yoon Nam-ho pressed persistently, Park In-bae’s expression tightened slightly.

“It could drop further, but conversely, given how much it’s already fallen, it could rebound just as sharply. If fifty-five dollars doesn’t suit you, perhaps you should look elsewhere.”

With that, he closed his diary right before my eyes as if he had nothing to lose.
Competitors Hyunwoo Group and TG Electronics were also manufacturing 64-megabyte memory, but Sasung Electronics offered the lowest prices alongside superior performance and durability.
Knowing this full well, Park In-bae could afford such boldness even as the seller.
Moreover, the order volume wasn’t substantial enough to warrant lowering unit prices for the sake of securing a contract.

“Please, just negotiate a little on the price.”

Yoon Nam-ho appealed with deference, but Park In-bae shook his head while keeping his chin raised.

“I’m afraid not.”

Frankly, if this were a client with whom we’d maintain steady, ongoing transactions, it might be different, but from Sasung Electronics’ perspective, Digital Wave wasn’t even worth considering as a serious business partner.
If we lowered the supply price without cause and other companies learned of it, demanding the same reduction, we’d be in trouble—which made it impossible to grant the request.

“What will you do?”

As Park In-bae asked bluntly, as if to say “decide for yourself,” Ahn Byung-seok suddenly burst out.

“We can’t accept a contract at that price.”
“President Ahn.”

Yoon Nam-ho, standing beside him, turned in surprise.
But Ahn Byung-seok, already offended, crossed his arms and wore an obstinate expression.
Park In-bae then picked up his diary without hesitation and replied casually.

“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. I hope we’ll have a good opportunity to do business together next time.”

Just as Park In-bae was rising, thinking he’d wasted his time, Ahn Byung-seok dropped a remark without emotion.

“I was planning to purchase three hundred thousand memory units in one go, but since negotiation isn’t possible, I suppose I’ll have to inquire with Hyunwoo or TG Electronics instead.”

Park In-bae paused and turned to look at Ahn Byung-seok, asking hesitantly.

“Did you just say 300,000 memory units?”

Ahn Byung-seok felt a surge of inner satisfaction, thinking that his counterpart had eagerly taken the bait he’d cast.
However, he maintained a composed expression outwardly and spoke matter-of-factly.

“That’s correct.”
“But last time, you distinctly said you were ordering 50,000 flash memory units, didn’t you?”

Ahn Byung-seok leaned back in his chair and spoke with a hint of smugness.

“Ah yes, but after we partnered with Midopa Department Store and started receiving orders from the United States, our initial order volume increased slightly.”

He deliberately emphasized the word “initial” and glanced sideways, and Manager Yoon Nam-ho, catching Ahn Byung-seok’s intent, quickly chimed in.

“We were hoping to break our contract with Sasung Electronics, the industry leader, and continue sourcing memory from them, but it’s really unfortunate how things turned out.”

Park In-bae, who had been rising from his seat, quietly sat back down, his eyes narrowing with a hint of suspicion.

“Are you certain about what you just said?”

Ahn Byung-seok deliberately frowned, feigning offense.

“Are you suggesting we’re lying?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that the order volume increased so suddenly. From what I understand, Digital Wave is a small to mid-sized enterprise with fewer than forty employees, so it seemed odd that you’d suddenly partner with Midopa Department Store and export to the United States. If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”

Even as Park In-bae apologized, his suspicious gaze remained fixed on the two men.
It was only natural to be skeptical when a small enterprise with fewer than fifty employees claimed to place an order worth 14.4 billion won.
Moreover, 300,000 units represented one-third of Sasung Electronics’ monthly production capacity for 64-megabyte memory.
Ahn Byung-seok straightened his neck and let out a short, deliberate cough.

“Ahem. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the investor backing this venture is Daehung Venture Capital.”
“Daehung Venture Capital—you mean the subsidiary of Daheung Group?”
“Exactly.”

Ahn Byung-seok nodded and confidently straightened his shoulders.

“We received assistance from the beginning of new product development, and this time we’re also receiving an additional one billion won in support.”
“Hmm. I see.”

Park In-bae finally nodded in understanding.
With Daehung Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Daheung Group, backing them and providing funding, it all made sense now—how a small company like Digital Wave could purchase expensive 64-megabyte flash memory, and 300,000 units at that, all at once.
Even if there was considerable exaggeration in the story, the fact remained that they would be conducting transactions with cash rather than promissory notes, which meant Sasung Electronics had absolutely nothing to lose.
In fact, with Japanese semiconductor companies like NEC deliberately flooding the market to suppress Korean and Taiwanese competitors, driving down 64-megabyte memory prices, acquiring a new client who would consistently purchase hundreds of thousands of units was a significant advantage for Sasung Electronics.
Park In-bae, having quickly calculated everything in his mind, straightened his posture and adopted a considerably more polite and proactive tone than before.

“How much of a discount are you looking for?”

President Ahn Byung-seok suppressed his immediate urge to answer and deliberately responded with an indifferent expression.

“Didn’t you just say it wasn’t possible?”
“Ha ha. That was because you hadn’t mentioned you’d be ordering such a large volume. If you’d brought this up earlier, my answer would have been different.”

Park In-bae smiled with the smooth, ingratiating demeanor of a seasoned salesman.
Witnessing the dramatic reversal in his counterpart’s attitude, President Ahn Byung-seok barely suppressed an inward chuckle.
But he understood—he would have done the same in that position—so after a moment’s consideration, he made a bold move.

“If you can do forty-five dollars per unit, we’ll draw up the contract right away.”

Hearing the price, Park In-bae’s brows furrowed immediately.

“Even for a bulk order, a ten-dollar discount is simply not feasible.”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho, sitting beside him, thought the demand was too steep and tapped President Ahn Byung-seok’s thigh beneath the table as if to say he should be more reasonable.
But President Ahn Byung-seok ignored the signal and instead pressed forward boldly.

“The first order is 300,000 units. And we can continue placing similar volumes afterward. Surely you can offer that level of benefit?”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho, listening to this, showed no outward sign but felt cold sweat breaking out internally.

‘This senior isn’t usually like this. What’s gotten into him today?’

He’d thought the constant grumbling was unusual, but now it seemed he was actually creating a problem.
Manager Yoon Nam-ho watched his counterpart’s expression anxiously, worried the deal might fall apart.
Park In-bae, who had been wearing a contemplative expression, finally opened his mouth.

“It doesn’t seem like a decision I can make at my level.”

Just as Manager Yoon Nam-ho’s heart sank and he was about to hastily lower the negotiation price, Park In-bae spoke first.

“I’ll bring the manager, so please wait a moment.”

Watching him rise from his seat, Manager Yoon Nam-ho swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.

“Of course.”
“Then I’ll excuse myself.”

Park In-bae excused himself and left the consultation room.
The moment the door closed, President Ahn Byung-seok, who had been feigning composure until then, exhaled heavily.
Manager Yoon Nam-ho lowered his voice to ensure it wouldn’t carry outside and pressed President Ahn Byung-seok urgently.

“Forty-five dollars? President—I mean, senior, have you lost your mind?”
“I don’t know. The words just came out of my mouth.”
“Good grief!”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho sighed, placing one hand against his forehead.
President Ahn Byung-seok, his throat parched, drained the lukewarm coffee that had cooled by now and spoke.

“Still, judging by their reaction, don’t you think they’ll agree if we play this right?”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho glanced toward the closed door and replied in a softened tone.

“Ten dollars would be difficult, but it looked like we could negotiate down to five.”
“Right? Good. If we’re going to lock in the retail price at 200,000 won like Chairman Park said, we need to lower the memory cost no matter what, so let’s keep pushing like this.”
“Even shaving off five dollars would significantly reduce our production costs.”

Manager Yoon Nam-ho nodded in agreement.

“Besides, after constantly watching Sasung Electronics’ face all this time, it feels oddly satisfying to throw our weight around like this.”
“Ha. Me too.”

None of this would have been possible without Seok-won.
Without him, I would have been groveling before Park In-bae, swallowing my pride just to shave off a few cents.

“This is all thanks to Chairman Park.”
“Yes, indeed.”

The moment the other party heard that Daehung Venture Capital was backing us, I could see the suspicion vanish from their eyes.
Newly aware of Seok-won’s influence, the two of us sipped our coffee in silence and waited for Park In-bae to return.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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