New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 113

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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 113. Time of Harvest (3)

 

Cali Fund CEO Oh Chang-jin.

 

He was still serving as the CEO of the Korea Office.

 

Despite the IT bubble investment failure and the Hanseo Bank incident acquired at an excessive price, he was able to maintain his current position thanks to success in other investments.

 

“CEO, Tiger Fund Korea Branch has started a mart business this time.”

 

“I’ve heard about it too. They created something shabby called Rollbook Mart, right?”

 

“But the sales are performing better than expected.”

 

CEO Oh Chang-jin received daily reports on Tiger Fund Korea Branch’s activities without fail.

 

Vowing to repay the humiliation he had suffered, he had ordered them to investigate their investment moves down to the smallest details.

 

“Is the mart business profitable?”

 

“Even Costco is operating at a loss in the Korean Market. Although the deficit is decreasing annually, it’s a business that will take several more years to turn profitable.”

 

“Hmm, but there must be a reason they entered the mart business despite that?”

 

CEO Oh Chang-jin had gained one experience from previous incidents.

 

The experience that wherever Tiger Fund Korea Branch invested, it always made money.

 

They were crazy people who had never made a losing investment, and he had deeply ingrained the lesson that he shouldn’t go in a different direction from them.

 

“They probably proceeded thinking it would be profitable. Certainly, Koreans’ purchasing power has noticeably increased since the IMF crisis.”

 

“We can’t let Tiger Fund have all the fun. Let’s start a mart business too.”

 

“…It’s a business that requires a lot of initial investment.”

 

Large marts were definitely not an easy business.

 

From real estate to buildings, and stocking various products to recruiting personnel.

 

Large marts were a business that required pouring money into everything from start to finish.

 

“It costs a lot of money because we’re trying to create something from nothing like Tiger Fund. If we buy an already established system, we can start much more cheaply.”

 

“Are you suggesting we acquire an existing large mart?”

 

“Exactly! There are foreign large marts in Korea too. If we acquire one of those, we can save money. And if we proceed with the business through rental rather than purchasing real estate, we can save even more on initial investment.”

 

They had to save as much as possible on initial investment.

 

Even though Cali Fund was among America’s top 3 funds, there were limits to the funds the Korea Office could use.

 

“With that approach, there’s a way to save on investment. We can secure cash by acquiring Carrefour Korea Branch, then selling the owned land and re-leasing it.”

 

“And if we get equity loans on top of that, we can essentially get Carrefour Korea Branch for free. Of course, assuming negotiations with Carrefour go well.”

 

CEO Oh Chang-jin was planning to acquire a large mart without investing a single penny of his own capital.

 

It was also a typical fund business method, and a method that could be used because there was no affection for the company.

 

“I’ll contact Carrefour headquarters right away.”

 

“I’ll go to France immediately. It won’t be difficult if we cooperate with Cali Fund’s France Branch.”

 

“I’ll prepare for the business trip without any issues.”

 

CEO Oh Chang-jin harbored bigger dreams.

 

He believed he could acquire Carrefour Korea Branch and resell it at a higher price, and furthermore steal the sales from Rollbook Mart that Tiger Fund had acquired.

 

***

 

A few days before the year ended, major news broke.

 

[Carrefour Korea Branch, Sudden Sale!]

 

[Cali Fund Korea Office Swallows Up Carrefour!]

 

[Cali Fund Announces Large-Scale Investment… Korean Mart Ecosystem Shaken.]

 

[Successive Large Mart Entries, Wall Street Funds’ Offensive… Gain or Loss?]

 

The General Manager and I urgently held a strategy meeting.

 

We began an in-depth analysis of the current situation.

 

“Cali Fund is trying to trip us up again.”

 

“Actually, it’s not really a loss for us. Since they acquired an existing large mart, it’s not that a new competitor emerged, but merely that the owner changed.”

 

“Still, if they engage in price bleeding competition, won’t we have to bleed too?”

 

Since the owner had changed, they would certainly hold large events.

 

However, since Cali Fund hadn’t jumped into the online market, it didn’t seem like we would suffer fundamental damage.

 

“We just need to respond with the events we’ve prepared.”

 

“You mean the acquisition of American brand distribution rights we discussed before?”

 

“That’s right. And since there are limits to the funds Cali Fund can use, defense is sufficiently possible.”

 

“According to rumors, they put the Geumcheon-gu site owned by Carrefour up for 26 billion won. It seems they’re trying to cover investment costs by selling the site.”

 

It was crazy.

 

One of the big reasons for entering the large mart business was the expectation of rising real estate prices.

 

Selling the site was no different from selling the future, and would inevitably result in a loss structure.

 

“Selling the site means they’re going all-in on the present. If we just hold out, we’ll win.”

 

“They must have judged that Korean real estate price increases wouldn’t be that high.”

 

“Or isn’t it proof that they’re that short on funds?”

 

“Considering rumors are circulating that they’re even taking loans with equity as collateral, their financial capacity certainly doesn’t seem sufficient.”

 

There didn’t seem to be much to worry about.

 

Of course, initial bleeding would be unavoidable, but it was certain they wouldn’t continue the bleeding competition for very long.

 

“First priority is establishing Rollbook Mart’s unique strengths. If we worry about Cali Fund, we might lose our direction instead.”

 

“Right. We just need to proceed our own way. And the Chairman has agreed to step in for securing Korean production rights for American brand distribution we discussed before.”

 

At times like this, I feel anew how reassuring the Chairman’s presence is.

 

Having someone with the reputation to meet one-on-one with major American group CEOs move according to my will was a tremendous advantage in itself.

 

“Once we secure production rights, we can immediately negotiate with factories to start domestic production. Even designating just one product among many as Rollbook Mart exclusive would be sufficient.”

 

“That’s the only way to cover the costs of securing production rights. I’d like to exclusively supply all products to Rollbook Mart, but that would make demand too small.”

 

“With that approach, no factory in Korea would want to contract with us.”

 

Producing famous American brand products required large factory lines.

 

Product production was only possible through negotiations with Korea’s large corporations, and it was safe to say there was nowhere that would sign contracts with exclusive supply conditions for all products.

 

“As long as it’s not an exclusive supply contract, Korean factories would have no reason to refuse. Just producing famous American brands would cause sales to surge.”

 

“But the cost of securing production rights won’t be insignificant.”

 

“Tiger Fund can sufficiently handle that level of cost.”

 

“I’ll have half covered by the employee accounts. That way the employees will have more passion, won’t they?”

 

The mart business wasn’t solely owned by Tiger Fund.

 

Since employees served as executives, their role was important too, and the more of their money that went in, the more they would inevitably have ownership consciousness.

 

“It’s not a burdensome amount for Tiger Fund, but if Employee Lee wants it that way, go ahead.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

 

CEO Oh Chang-jin had completely disrupted my daily schedule.

 

Due to Cali Fund suddenly jumping into the Korean mart business, I had to hold strategy meetings all morning.

 

I would definitely make him pay the price for disrupting my morning routine.

 

***

 

Today was a series of meetings.

 

Even after arriving at Nexfin, I had to go straight to the meeting hall.

 

Assistant Manager Park and Section Chief Jung, who were in charge of Daehyeon Courier, were waiting for me.

 

“Employee Lee! Same-day delivery was a complete hit. Daily delivery volume increased by over 10%.”

 

“Same-day delivery was only implemented in the Seoul Area, yet volume increased that much?”

 

“It’s partly due to same-day delivery, and Daehyeon Courier handles all the items sold on Rollbook Point Shopping too. Thanks to that, volume increased tremendously.”

 

Daehyeon Courier was already maintaining its position as industry leader.

 

Even before we acquired it, market share reached 35%, and thanks to the connection with Rollbook, it could now occupy an overwhelming first place.

 

“Same-day delivery volume will continue to increase.”

 

“That’s why we increased delivery vehicles and hired more delivery drivers. We plan to increase drivers from 1,600 to 2,000 by the end of this year.”

 

“Are there no problems with delivery driver supply?”

 

“Right now they’re all clamoring to do it. Even though the work is harder than other courier companies, we pay much more. And delivery drivers are honestly structured no differently from self-employed business owners.”

 

There was a reason delivery drivers were called ‘individual business owners’ at the time.

 

Some received commissions based on the volume they processed, and they covered their own vehicles and maintenance costs.

 

However, direct drivers from large corporation subsidiaries sometimes received company support, but the number of consignment contract drivers was gradually increasing.

 

“How is the reaction to missions?”

 

“They absolutely love it. Who wouldn’t like receiving bonuses just for completing their assigned volume? Of course, the assigned volume is a bit much.”

 

“Are they accepting the siege warfare system well too?”

 

“It’s like a real war, you know? If any one person can’t handle their delivery volume, all the drivers mobilize to help them out. They’re going absolutely crazy trying to claim even a little more territory.”

 

Individual missions and joint missions.

 

By appropriately mixing these two elements, efficiency had dramatically increased.

 

Of course, it might seem like pressuring the drivers, but since it was a structure that allowed them to earn much more money, most drivers seemed satisfied.

 

“If there are any drivers who can’t participate due to lack of funds for vehicle purchase, I think we should consider supporting them with company loans.”

 

“That would be nice, but as you know, Daehyeon Courier’s financial situation isn’t exactly great.”

 

Even though Daehyeon Courier was the industry leader.

 

Having suffered greatly during its time under Daehyeon Group, its financial situation wasn’t very good.

 

Money was just starting to accumulate little by little, so large-scale loan support was burdensome.

 

“For now, I’ll proceed with support from Tiger Fund. Later, when there’s room, Daehyeon Courier can repay it, so there won’t be any problems.”

 

“If we can do that, we’ll definitely be able to recruit many more delivery drivers. There are many delivery drivers who can’t go independent due to lack of initial capital.”

 

“Then I’ll first create a program to support 10 billion won. If we provide loan support for only 50% instead of the full amount, over 800 people can benefit.”

 

“Then people wanting to come over to our side will be lining up, right?”

 

At current market prices, a 2.5-ton vehicle cost roughly 25 million won.

 

Using installment purchases or leasing, they could benefit far more than 800 people, and if they signed an exclusive contract with one automotive company, they could even get supplies at cheaper prices.

 

“I’ll also consider an exclusive supply contract with Daehyeon Automotive or another automotive company.”

 

“If you’re buying vehicles in bulk, they should naturally give discounts. How about I go and discuss it? I know a franchise owner.”

 

“Rather than a franchise owner, I’m thinking of meeting with Daehyeon Automotive executives to negotiate. Tiger Fund will handle that matter.”

 

If Daehyeon Courier stepped forward, it would be difficult to seize negotiating initiative.

 

Tiger Fund, which could be considered the parent company, needed to step forward directly to secure better conditions.

 

“If Employee Lee takes care of it, that’s good for us.”

 

“But Assistant Manager, how do you think Daehyeon Courier’s accounting situation looks?”

 

“I haven’t found any anomalies yet. There’s definitely someone lining their pockets behind the scenes, but whether the amount is small or they’re just skilled, it’s not visible yet.”

 

No matter how good the system and how much investment was made.

 

If there was a hole in the jar, everything would flow out to the wrong places.

 

So to raise awareness, it was necessary to definitively deal with whoever was filling their own pockets.

 

“I’ll examine Daehyeon Courier’s accounting data in detail with Tiger Fund experts within this week.”

 

“I’ll prepare untouched materials. If I tell the executives, they might tamper with the data, so I should gradually secure everything, right?”

 

“Please gather all materials, even trivial ones, and I’ll review them thoroughly.”

 

The plan was to cut away not only accounting issues but also all traces of the old era like corrupt practices.

 

To prepare for a new era, breaking with the wrong past was essential.

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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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