New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 104. Things Money Can’t Buy (4)

 

I finished my schedule in the United States and returned to Korea.

 

I went straight from the airport to the Tiger Fund Korea Branch, where the General Manager was waiting for me.

 

“You’ve worked hard. I already received word from the Chairman. I heard you made money and even secured luxury brand partnerships?”

 

“I haven’t secured Chanel yet. I plan to approach them once the Midopa Department Store remodeling blueprints are ready.”

 

“Even with just LVMH and PPR moving in, Midopa Department Store can become Korea’s top luxury department store. You really worked hard.”

 

For a system that would run for 10 or 20 years, I could endure about a week.

 

If I moved more now to perfectly establish the initial system, it would run on its own afterward.

 

To achieve that, there was still more work to be done.

 

The luxury image strategy was successful, but there were still many areas lacking in terms of scale.

 

“I received a promise from the Chairman that I could use half of this investment profit, 100 million dollars, for the department store.”

 

“If Employee Lee wants it, you could freely spend not just 100 million dollars but 200 million dollars. But what are you planning to use it for?”

 

“I want to expand the scale a bit more. There are many places experiencing bankruptcy crises or already bankrupt, like Midopa Department Store.”

 

Since Midopa Department Store’s situation was like this.

 

Naturally, the situation of small department stores in the provinces didn’t even need to be examined.

 

There were countless department stores struggling with financial difficulties, just waiting for their day of collapse.

 

“You’re thinking of acquiring department stores in other regions too.”

 

“I plan to acquire department stores or large marts and use them as regional bases.”

 

“Midopa Department Store collapsed due to the parent company’s financial difficulties. It was actually profitable on its own. But other regional department stores have different circumstances. Most collapsed after suffering from chronic deficits. Will that be okay?”

 

Having a lot of debt wasn’t a problem.

 

As long as negotiations with creditors went well, it was a number that could be reduced as much as needed.

 

The problem was the deficits.

 

Department stores and marts suffering from chronic deficits needed their entire systems overhauled.

 

That’s why the General Manager couldn’t hide his worried expression.

 

“I plan to integrate regional base marts into one and launch them as a new brand. And it’s also the best way to acquire good location and spacious real estate.”

 

“If real estate is the purpose, that’s not bad. Current real estate values are greatly undervalued, so you could recover the acquisition cost just by holding onto them. But if you operate them, the debt will increase further.”

 

Real estate prices were now slowly beginning to rise.

 

But in the case of department stores and marts facing bankruptcy, properties were being listed at very cheap prices tied up with debt.

 

So if you went in targeting only real estate, you could definitely make a profitable business.

 

But I wasn’t simply targeting real estate; I was trying to create a new structure of distribution system.

 

“I’m thinking of turning most of the department stores and marts acquired that way into warehouse-style marts. Interior construction costs won’t be much, and they’ll be able to store various goods in large quantities.”

 

“Like Costco? But Costco’s Korea branch has been recording continuous losses too. Including this year, it’ll be six consecutive years of losses.”

 

“If we add internet commerce to the warehouse-style store system, we can quickly boost sales.”

 

Warehouse-style stores and internet shopping.

 

This was a method that hadn’t even been attempted in Korea yet.

 

“If internet shopping is added too, the possibilities would certainly increase.”

 

“And I plan to introduce same-day delivery systems for specific regions.”

 

“Would same-day delivery be possible?”

 

“The biggest reason for acquiring Daehyeon Logistics was precisely because of the same-day delivery system. If we properly establish the logistics system, it’s fully achievable.”

 

“Did you say you needed regional bases because of same-day delivery?”

 

You needed distribution centers to enable same-day delivery.

 

I planned to make regional base warehouse-style marts serve as both distribution centers and marts.

 

“If they serve not just as warehouse-style marts but also as distribution centers, we can sufficiently overcome chronic deficits.”

 

“In that case, you’d be utilizing the marts 24 hours a day. But the initial costs won’t be insignificant.”

 

“I’m thinking of taking a long-term approach. First, the goal is to secure regional bases by investing 70 billion won.”

 

The 100 million dollar profit gained through the luxury brand acquisition war.

 

I planned to use all of that amount, excluding Midopa Department Store remodeling costs, for warehouse-style marts.

 

“It’s definitely a strategy only we can pull off. What company would pour 70 billion won into marts at this time?”

 

“This is a plan that’s impossible unless we do it now. When the economy recovers, large corporations and capital forces will come rushing in again. But right now there are no competitors, so we can hold the initiative in negotiations.”

 

The enormous amount of 70 billion won.

 

But this was just the beginning.

 

To realize my plan, more distribution centers were needed, and for that, more land had to be secured.

 

“How cheaply we can secure real estate will be the key. No matter how much we hold the initiative, there are limits to how much we can cut the price.”

 

“I’ll do my best to acquire them cheaply.”

 

“Handle that as you see fit, Employee Lee. It’s money you earned, so who would say anything?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The General Manager left the warehouse-style mart issue entirely to me.

 

But he was trying to pass another problem to me as well.

 

“Many companies are starting to show interest in the mobile phone patents that Nexpin holds. Especially Samjin Electronics wants to discuss it as soon as possible. How about you handle that issue too, Employee Lee?”

 

“Specifically, which patents are you referring to?”

 

“It doesn’t seem to be just one or two. Overseas companies are also requesting consultations. We’ll probably have to conduct negotiations with at least 5-6 companies simultaneously.”

 

It was definitely going to be troublesome work.

 

But it wasn’t just any work – it was Nexpin’s patents.

 

I couldn’t leave patents that all of Nexpin had worked together to create to someone else, so I had no choice but to take it on myself.

 

“I’ll take charge and handle it.”

 

“You don’t need to be intimidated just because they’re large corporations. And Nexpin isn’t in a desperate position either.”

 

“I’ll conduct the negotiations well.”

 

As the General Manager said, Nexpin had nothing to be desperate about.

 

Even just last year, contracts with various places would have been necessary for Nexpin’s survival.

 

But now we had large client companies like MS and Apple, so there was no need to make licensing contracts at rock-bottom prices.

 

The money coming in from MS alone was more than enough to maintain Nexpin.

 

Of course, that didn’t mean we absolutely wouldn’t make contracts.

 

For Nexpin’s future, it was necessary to conclude licensing contracts with various places.

 

***

 

Due diligence was essential for acquiring regional department stores and marts.

 

What the location was like, how many people passed by, what condition the building was in, etc.

 

To know various information, you had to see it directly with your own eyes to know accurately.

 

And this kind of work no longer needed to be done by me directly.

 

I could use experts from Midopa Department Store and Daehyeon Logistics, and just listen to the information they confirmed through my Nexpin colleagues.

 

“I looked around the Busan area thoroughly. I selected 5 places as candidates. They’re department stores that have entered legal management or are seriously experiencing financial difficulties.”

 

“Is it possible to acquire all 5 places?”

 

“All of them are possible. There are places where direct purchase is possible, and places that need to be acquired through auction. And there are even 2 places that have been turned over to creditors.”

 

There wasn’t even a need to acquire all 5 department stores.

 

Considering transportation, commercial districts, and site scale, acquiring about 2 places per region would be sufficient.

 

Of course, the more distribution centers the better, but if you start too grandly from the beginning, it becomes difficult to manage.

 

“Which place has the best location?”

 

“The best one is Taehwa Department Store located in Seomyeon. It’s both the center of Busan’s commercial district and a transportation hub.”

 

“We must acquire Taehwa Department Store.”

 

“And Sehwa Department Store in Gwangalli was pretty good too. It’s close to Haeundae and Nam-gu, which are called affluent areas in Busan.”

 

They were definitely places with good locations.

 

In that case, naturally the acquisition prices would have to be high too.

 

“Do you have estimated acquisition prices?”

 

“Taehwa Department Store can be acquired for 15 billion won, and Sehwa Department Store can be sufficiently acquired for 10 billion won.”

 

“Are these the ones that went to creditors?”

 

“Taehwa Department Store went to creditors, and Sehwa Department Store went to auction.”

 

This was information that Manager Kim obtained by running around personally.

 

At first he said he hated it so much, but now he was working harder than anyone on Midopa Department Store-related tasks.

 

“Please proceed with the acquisition through Midopa Department Store. Tiger Fund will provide the funding.”

 

“Is this coming out of our money by any chance?”

 

“30% will be used from the Nexpin Employee Account and the rest will be supported by Tiger Fund.”

 

“This is a viable business, right? I’m worried because we’re acquiring a bankrupt department store.”

 

“It’s definitely a viable business. The General Manager has also approved this business.”

 

It was just a matter of timing.

 

We would struggle for 10 years, but after that, it was a business that was bound to succeed.

 

“I looked into the Incheon area. Many small and medium-sized department stores in Incheon have also collapsed.”

 

We decided on acquisition candidate department stores focusing on the 6 major metropolitan cities.

 

We decided to acquire 2 each in Busan and Incheon, and 1 department store each in the rest.

 

I left all the negotiations to my colleagues.

 

“But is it really okay for us to negotiate?”

 

“Tiger Fund employees have agreed to help. If you receive unreasonable conditions, you can get up and leave immediately.”

 

“Is that really okay?”

 

“If we don’t acquire them anyway, they’ll remain ghost buildings for several years. And since the creditors need immediate cash right now, we don’t need to bow our heads at all.”

 

We had to divide the work as much as possible.

 

This level of negotiation was sufficient to leave to Nexpin colleagues and Tiger Fund employees.

 

We might suffer some losses, but we needed to gain experience this way so I could be more comfortable later.

 

And I had to prepare for more important negotiations.

 

License negotiations with global mobile phone companies were not far away.

 

***

 

Mobile phone companies that needed Nexpin’s patents.

 

Among them, Samjin Electronics was the first to make a move.

 

The IP Team Leader came directly to Tiger Fund and hoped to conclude a license agreement.

 

“Hello. I’m Park Jeong-su. I’ve met Branch Manager Kang Dong-ju before, but you’re someone new this time.”

 

“I’m Lee Jung-hoo from Tiger Fund Korea Branch. The Branch Manager was promoted to Tiger Fund General Manager, so I’ve been delegated all authority.”

 

“He’s truly an amazing person. A Korean becoming a general manager of a major American fund.”

 

The negotiation began with praise for General Manager Kang Dong-ju.

 

Actually, it wasn’t really a negotiation. It was no different from a one-sided notification.

 

“I heard you need Nexpin’s patents.”

 

“Patent purchase is our first priority, but if purchase is difficult, we’re considering a license agreement as a second option.”

 

“Purchase is impossible, and for license agreements, we’re concluding contracts based on standard contracts.”

 

I pushed forward the standard contract.

 

The reason it was a notification rather than a negotiation was here.

 

I had no intention of modifying the standard contract I had prepared in advance.

 

“Is there no room for negotiation?”

 

“That’s correct. When using Nexpin’s patents, a fixed royalty rate of 2% of sales for domestic distribution and 3% when global distribution is included will be applied.”

 

“Is this an exclusive contract?”

 

“No. All mobile phone manufacturers, including Samjin Electronics, will be able to use Nexpin’s patents under the same conditions.”

 

Manager Park Jeong-su’s expression twisted.

 

They had to pay 2-3% royalties even though it wasn’t an exclusive contract.

 

Moreover, it was based on sales, not net profit, so it would be difficult for him to decide.

 

“Is there really no room for negotiation at all?”

 

“If we give special treatment only to Samjin Electronics, other mobile phone manufacturers will try not to contract with us. So we must offer the same conditions to everyone.”

 

“I understand for now. I’ll contact you again after our internal meeting is finished.”

 

Samjin Electronics returned without gaining anything.

 

And this news would be delivered intact to the working staff of global mobile phone manufacturers who were now flying to Korea.

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