Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Hunger Marketing and Thin Profit Volume Sales
The tall girl waited until Joseph’s carriage had disappeared into the distance before she darted toward the back door of the Paris Angel Company. After checking that no one was around, she bent down to peer through the keyhole and saw an old doorkeeper sitting at the entrance, listlessly staring at the front door.
She studied the layout of the room for a moment, bit her red lips, and moved to the side door window. She pulled a thin wire from her hair and slipped it through a crack in the window, deftly manipulating it until the bolt quietly slid open.
Carefully pushing the window ajar, she leaped in with a soft grace, unbeknownst to the doorman who was merely three meters away.
The girl tossed a pebble against the back door, creating a light “snap,” drawing a frown from the doorman, who got up to investigate.
Taking advantage of the moment, she swiftly stepped forward, used the back of his chair to vault herself over, and disappeared into the entrance hall.
The doorman seemed to feel a breeze and turned his head to look, but all he saw was an empty hall.
Passing through a storeroom, the tall girl effortlessly evaded several clerks and found herself in the Paris Angel’s first-floor sales area.
The store was crowded, but luckily the employees controlled the number of people entering, so it wasn’t too packed.
She glanced at the crowd squeezed outside against the glass wall, a triumphant smile crossing her face, then turned her attention to the shop that had long piqued her curiosity.
Next to the entrance stood two life-sized oil paintings, both depicting the same pretty woman, except the woman on the left had dull skin with a few pimples on her forehead, next to the words “Before Use.” The woman on the right, however, had smooth, fair skin that radiated charm alongside the words “After Use.”
Walking leisurely forward, the tall girl discovered that the shop had no counters, just over a dozen chest-high, step-like glass displays neatly arranged.
Atop the glass displays lay various exquisitely packaged cosmetics, with small wooden cards beside them listing the names and prices, all glittering under the chandelier lights.
The soft piano music playing around the store enveloped it in an ethereal, upscale ambiance.
Not purchasing anything but merely strolling through the store was already a form of splendid mental indulgence.
“A mask?” she paused in front of something that resembled a cloth mask, “What’s this?”
A tall and handsome clerk immediately approached and bowed politely, “Miss, the mask is a new skincare product our store has launched. It is highly effective at…”
As she listened to his magnetic voice, her eyes inadvertently caught sight of his firm, upright neck, making her cheeks feel warm.
Before long, her small bag was filled with Angel Water, masks, hand creams, and a bunch of other items.
The store had an odd rule, where customers would pick up items first and pay for everything at the end. Looking at her little bag, she sighed; she had only planned on buying a bottle of Angel Water but ended up with so much more. But these items were just too tempting…
A well-dressed lady walked past her, nearly spilling over with cosmetics from the three bags she carried, muttering, “To be able to buy freely without a price increase, my God!”
The realization hit the tall girl in an instant, see, indeed no one could resist these damned wonderful products!
She lingered in the store for close to an hour before she was content enough to prepare to pay and leave. The handsome clerk then told her she could apply for a VIP card at the shop, which offered services like free delivery and complimentary greeting card writing, and holders of the Silver Card and Gold Card could enjoy a 5% and 10% discount, respectively.
She cautiously inquired, “What kind of status does one need to get a Gold Card?”
“Oh no, madam, anyone can apply for the card,” the clerk replied with a smile. “You just need to deposit 1000 livres in advance. This money remains yours, and when you come shopping, the amount is simply deducted from your prepaid balance.”
The tall girl was taken aback by the 1000 livres, then asked, “And the Silver Card?”
“A prepayment of 500 livres, madam,”
As the girl squeezed her way out of the crowd and turned back to look at the sign of Paris Angel, she suddenly stamped her foot in annoyance, cursing herself for not being able to hold back at the end!
That VIP card had cost a whole 200 livres, and now she wouldn’t be able to go to the opera next month and the month after, nor could she buy new shoes!
She murmured with a distressed face, “If only I had accepted Mr. Weston’s reward last time…”
She halted mid-sentence and then stared seriously at her reflection in the glass, “Soleil! What are you thinking? You’re doing this not for money but for freedom and justice! Don’t let money consume your ideals!”
The next day.
The general manager and boutique manager of Paris Angel Company rushed to the Palace of Versailles early in the morning, reporting to Joseph in his reception room about the previous day’s sales.
The bespectacled elder, who used to manage the largest jewelry store in Paris and was poached by Paris Angel Company with a high salary, read clearly from his ledger,
“A total of 2,206 bottles of Angel Water and hand creams sold, with 2,110 facial masks.
“Common VIP cards 71, Silver Cards 35, and Gold Cards 40.”
He paused for a moment, closed his ledger, and continued, “The total revenue is 126,562 livres.”
Joseph, although prepared, was startled to hear this number. This wasn’t just opening a shop, it was like robbing money! He blurted out, “126,000? Are you sure?”
“Yes, 126,000…” The bespectacled elder glanced nervously to the side.
The man next to him, with a flat nose and a slight limp, quickly bowed his head and said in a deep voice, “Your Highness, this was my mistake! I underestimated the sales volume, leading to insufficient stock. After 5:30 p.m. yesterday, the store ran out of stock, so the revenue might be less…”
Joseph coughed slightly, mentally praising him; this was indeed the former general manager of the Plymouth Shipyard highly esteemed by Eman, always feeling he hadn’t made enough for the boss.
He nodded and said, “Mr. Brent, actually, this is quite good. Hunger marketing can enhance customer’s eagerness to buy. From now on, let’s stock up to 95% of the anticipated sales volume.”
“Hunger marketing?” Although Brent didn’t understand the meaning of the term, he immediately nodded and remembered the Crown Prince’s request.
Joseph knew it would be difficult for such a day of 126,000 livres in sales to happen again since a large part of it was from VIP card top-ups, meaning those customers wouldn’t spend money on future purchases.
Moreover, after releasing their purchasing power this time, consumers would need quite a while to finish using the cosmetics they had bought.
However, making seven or eight thousand livres daily in sales shouldn’t be difficult in the future, and most importantly, Paris Angel’s brand effect was now established.
This must be leveraged wisely!
He thought for a moment and then instructed Brent, “Please contact the top workshops in Paris after you return, and commission a batch of jewelry, hats, and shoes. Use the finest materials, the best workmanship, the most fashionable designs, and spare no expense.
“Additionally, sign a contract with the workshops that anything made for Paris Angel, without the company’s consent, cannot be reproduced in the same style.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Brent nodded, noting it down, and then cautiously asked, “What exactly do you intend to do?”
“Stamp these items with the Paris Angel mark and sell them in our boutiques. Price them at three to five times the cost. For secondary products, we’ll focus on making thin profits on high volume sales.”