Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Absolute Monopoly (Please Add to Booklist)
Brent was struck by a sudden thought, a vision of those ladies and young mistresses who, after purchasing cosmetics, would casually pick up a hat or a pair of shoes, filling him with immense admiration for the Crown Prince’s business acumen.
At his side, an elderly gentleman wearing glasses suggested, “Your Highness, nearly half of yesterday’s customers were noblewomen from the Palace of Versailles. Do you think we should open a branch there?”
“There’s no need,” Joseph smiled and shook his head. “Letting them travel all the way to Paris to buy our products will further highlight the preciousness and irreplaceability of Paris Angel. At the same time, when the nobility of Paris see them frequently entering and leaving our store, they too will follow suit and make purchases.”
After discussing product sales, Brent continued, “Your Highness, in the past few days, Count Albrow, Duke Lavalier, Marquis de Montes, and six other individuals have expressed interest in franchising with Paris Angel Company. What are your thoughts on this matter…?”
Indeed, from day one of planning his specialty store, Joseph intended to expand Paris Angel through franchising!
Opening stores one by one was not only slow but also a tedious and laborious process.
Without you having opened many, those capitalists with keen senses of smell would mimic you and compete.
Although Joseph held the core technology of salicylic acid and did not fear competition, it was inevitable that he would lose some customers.
Thus, he wanted to use the method of franchising to quickly conquer the cosmetics markets of All of France and even Europe, ensuring that from product efficacy to marketing and market size, Paris Angel left no opportunity for competitors!
After all, there was no concept of antitrust laws in this era; not to monopolize was practically to refuse the gifts of the times.
Moreover, the profit margins on his cosmetics products were extremely high, roughly between 800% and 1300%. Allocating one-fifth of that to franchisees was completely acceptable to him, and for the franchisees, it would be like laughing all the way to the bank!
Ultimately, by working with the agents of Paris Angel, a comprehensive sales network could be established, ensuring that any future products could also rely on this channel for a swift distribution and rapid cost recovery.
Joseph nodded, telling Brent, “The matter of franchisees is entirely in your hands. I have written all the franchising conditions and negotiating tactics in the document, which I trust you have learned by heart. Just bring it to me for signature once you finalize the negotiations.”
Joseph had never underestimated the intelligence of people from this era; what they lacked was simply the vision and concepts from future generations. As long as he taught them these things, they would not perform worse than people from the future.
Especially someone like Brent, a remarkable expert in his field.
In the future, Joseph’s energy could definitely not be wasted on the routine business operations of Paris Angel. Thus, it was essential to train his subordinates early and to delegate authority to them.
“Thank you for your trust,” Brent said, touching his chest and bowing, “I will surely not let you down!”
Sevigne Street in Paris.
The headquarters of Paris Angel Company welcomed several high-profile visitors on this day.
These individuals included Count Albrow, Duke Lavalier, and Marquis de Montes. Whether they were from wealthy old nobility or newly affluent capitalists, each one held a notable reputation in the Parisian business world.
They had come together for the same purpose today—to join the Paris Angel Company as franchisees.
Brent first gave them a tour of the company’s production workshop, which left these elites of the business world in awe.
Was this a workshop? It was more like a grand villa!
The workers were dressed in clean and neat uniforms, seated on carved chairs, working at a steady pace. Everything from the raw material storage to the filling station was made of high-quality oak, exquisitely crafted and spotless.
After showing the production plant, Brent led them into the conference room and presented a large oil painting of the company’s exclusive store. He announced, “Franchising is actually very simple; it is about letting each of you also own such an extraordinary shop!”
Then, he smiled slightly, “I know you may be worried that perhaps you cannot achieve such remarkable results. Rest assured on this matter, you don’t need to handle the new store’s decoration or arrangement at all—leave it to Paris Angel Company. What you will receive is a shop ready to open for business immediately.
“You don’t even have to worry about management staff or clerks, Paris Angel Company will train them for you, supervise them for you, and even take care of making the uniforms!
“In other words, all you need to do is sign the franchise contract, and then you can just count your money every day.”
Count Albrow, Duke Lavalier, and others all showed knowing smiles.
Brent immediately added, “I can reveal a secret to you, the exclusive store that Paris Angel opened on the Champs-Elysees has a record sales of up to 126,000 livres in a single day.”
Even those elite businessmen, accustomed to handling large sums of livres, were so astonished that their eyes widened at his words.
The shop’s daily turnover was even higher than what their vast factories made in a month!
Brent continued, “The company will open only three franchise stores across the whole of Paris, and the distance between each store must not be less than half a league.”
One league is four kilometers, so a distance greater than two kilometers between stores ensured they wouldn’t compete for the same customers.
“Oh, for the first franchisee, the company will offer a discount, and the franchise fee will be 150,000 livres. After that, the franchise fee will increase to 180,000. For franchisees outside of Paris, the price will be 110,000 livres.”
The business elites immediately started whispering among themselves.
Truth be told, the franchising policy and prospects were very appealing to them, especially since they had witnessed the astonishing success when the store on the Champs-Elysees street opened, but they had never dealt with this franchising model before, so they had some reservations.
Duke Lavalier, with deep frown lines, said, “Mr. General Manager, who can be sure these days? Maybe today it sells for 126,000, but perhaps tomorrow it’ll only sell 1,200. I’m pessimistic about its earning ability.”
“Your Grace underestimates the dedication of ladies to beauty. They would rather starve than neglect their faces. I assure you, Paris Angel has no off-season.”
“Then I hope to sell other goods in the store,” said Count Albrow.
“Oh, that puts me in a difficult position…”
As everyone was bargaining, a young man sitting in the corner clenched his fists tightly.
His name was Boduan, and he had taken over his family’s textile industry just three years ago. However, last year the French Government and the British signed a trade agreement, cutting tariffs on almost all industrial goods to near zero.
A flood of high-quality, inexpensive British textiles poured into France, and his factory was immediately overwhelmed.
In just over a year, he had lost more than half of his substantial family business and eventually sold off his remaining dozen or so textile plants in agony, planning to retire gracefully and live a quiet life of a wealthy man.
He hadn’t intended to franchise with Paris Angel, but an old friend had dragged him here to take a look. At that moment, he suddenly recalled the franchising advertisement for Paris Angel in the newspaper: Perhaps the pessimists are always right, but only the optimists make money!
He stood up abruptly, staring at Brent, “Mr. General Manager, I’ve decided to franchise. As the first franchisee, I’m entitled to the 150,000 livres opening discount, so I am going to invest 300,000 livres to open two franchise stores!”