Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Paris Angel Trading Company
The pace of life in the 18th century was as slow as clouds drifting across the sky.
Although Joseph was aware of the frenzy among the ladies at the Palace of Versailles for Angel Water, it wasn’t until the following evening that the beauticians’ assistant brought back news from the shop.
“So, you sold a total of 1,460 livres?” Joseph asked the young man in astonishment, “40 bottles?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Those misses and madams were all bidding up the price, it was impossible to buy it at the original cost. I heard that in the ‘Source of Elegance’ store, their attendants nearly came to blows.”
Joseph let out a long sigh, a misstep, sold too cheap!
It seemed,
his heart was still not cold enough…
his understanding of the weight of the ladies’ purses was still insufficient…
his trust in the Queen’s influence on fashion was still lacking…
Having learnt from this painful lesson, if there’s a mistake, it must be corrected, and Joseph immediately decided—raise the prices!
Of course, you couldn’t just slap a higher price on the original product, that would look too unsightly.
Joseph realized his initial commercial plan was too hasty, and had not fully developed the commercial value of Angel Water.
He immediately returned to his study, wrote feverishly for over ten pages, and revised it several times before finally being satisfied.
The “Commercial Planning Proposal” in front of him now had the earlier version of Angel Water discontinued as a “tasting edition,” replaced by three different grades of the official version: Luxury, Deluxe, and Regular.
Segment the market, harvest the wealth of ladies of varying spending abilities!
The Regular edition would be the same in content and packaging as before, but the quantity reduced to 4 ounces, priced at 14 livres.
The Deluxe edition, based on the Regular, would include some olive oil, come in a heart-shaped glass bottle nestled in a brass box, all for 4 ounces at a price of 26 livres.
The Luxury edition would build on the Deluxe by adding a small amount of lanolin, incorporating scents like lavender, jasmine, and immortelle—essentially using different essential oils—with the bottle fashioned in the flower shape of the selected fragrance and packed in a pure silver box, 4 ounces going for 50 livres.
Furthermore, there would be development of a line of Angel Water derivative products.
His first choice was a face mask.
He had seen the face masks of this era, which were generally thickly applied directly onto the face, and some used mask-like items that covered the face; the disposable fabric masks of later eras that leave the eyes, nose, and mouth exposed had not yet appeared.
And making these was incredibly simple—commission shaped pieces of cloth resembling a face, soak them in Angel Water without any added thickener, and that was that.
Considering the mania for beauty products displayed by the ladies at the Versailles these past days, the market for face masks was surely not going to disappoint.
Joseph also split the face masks into three grades.
The Luxury edition used silk, the Deluxe edition wool, and the Regular edition cotton; disposable products to be discarded after one use. Priced respectively at 5 livres, 3 livres, and 2 livres per mask.
In addition, the product line would include: hand cream, foot cream, toners…
In essence, it was a matter of adjusting the ratio of glycerin to salicin, or mixing in more lanolin. A change of packaging and name, and it was a completely different product—these were standard practices in the cosmetics industry of later times.
On top of enriching the product line, Joseph also redrafted the marketing plan.
Consignment sales clearly wouldn’t do, only specialized direct-sale stores would bring the required professionalism.
Implement a VIP membership system, which is divided into Gold Card members, Silver Card members, and regular members. The Gold and Silver cards will be made of real gold and silver, full of ceremonial sense, emphasizing luxury and extravagance.
In the end, expand throughout Europe by allowing franchised store models!
Joseph looked at the large stack of business plans and realized that he couldn’t achieve this alone. It would require a company and a large number of employees to manage such a large operation.
He immediately called his entourage and began assigning them tasks.
The accountant took people to purchase glycerin and other raw materials, as well as to order bottles and packaging; they were also tasked with signing long-term contracts with suppliers to ensure a stable supply.
The beautician, accompanied by several maids, was responsible for filling the bottles of Angel Water. For the time being, they would release 200 bottles into the market per day, with plans to increase production once the exclusive stores were ready.
The lawyer went to register a company in Joseph’s name.
At this point, Joseph, who always struggled with naming, paused for a while. After considering for a while, he felt it was important to highlight the connection with Angel Water, so the company was finally named “Paris Angel Trading Company”.
As for the company’s location, as well as the recruitment and management of employees, he was not worried.
All of the cosmetics’ bottles and packaging were custom-ordered from stores in Paris. Raw materials like glycerin and essential oils were easily purchased from the market. The “France Angel” company was, in fact, only responsible for the final steps of bottling, packaging, and sales.
These tasks did not require any special skills and workers could easily be recruited. As for management and sales, Paris, being one of the most commercially developed cities in Europe, had an abundance of such talent.
Moreover, the Crown Prince’s personal entourage was mostly unoccupied, and they could be used temporarily if there was a sudden shortage of staff.
The core technology of all the products—salicin—was firmly in Joseph’s hands. Even Lamark didn’t know that what he was processing for the Crown Prince was actually a raw material for cosmetics.
So even if all the recruited employees turned against him, they would not be able to replicate even a drop of Angel Water.
After arranging the work, Joseph found himself with free time. Seeing that it was still early, he had Eman prepare the carriage for a trip to Paris, planning to personally choose the location for the flagship store.
The carriage jostled for several hours and just after noon, they entered the Paris City area.
Eman suddenly pointed out of the carriage window, “Your Highness, your perfume workshop, oh, now it’s a pharmaceutical workshop, is over there.”
Joseph indeed saw a sizeable courtyard nearby, located beside a branch of the Seine River, with a large waterwheel slowly turning on the east side of the yard.
He said to Eman, “Let’s go over and take a look.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The courtyard was very large, containing more than a dozen buildings and an open space that was more than twice the size of two basketball courts.
The gatekeeper, recognizing the air and attire of Joseph and his party, did not dare to stop them and even eagerly led them inside the yard.
Soon, Lamark, wearing an apron, came out to greet Joseph, bowing and saying, “Your Highness, what brings you here?”
Joseph smiled and returned the greeting, “I’m thinking of opening a store in Paris. I took the opportunity to come and see you.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Lamark said. “Actually, I have a matter I would like to discuss with you as well.”
“Oh? What is it? Please tell me,” Joseph encouraged.
Lamark gestured towards the workshop as he spoke, “Previously, there were more than 40 workers here, but purifying salicin does not require that many people. Your Highness, should we lay them off, or should we allocate some to continue making perfume?”
Having many workers was a good thing! Joseph immediately instructed, “We can neither lay them off nor have them make perfume. Purchase some more equipment and continue to increase the production of salicin; that will keep them busy.”
His goal was to turn “Paris Angel” into a luxury empire that marketed throughout Europe and launched into the Americas; the demand for core raw materials was undoubtedly a huge number.