WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Conglomerate Heir Just Wants to Fail ◈
Chapter 8
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‘The Chairman Has Gone Crazy!’
It was the kind of crude, sensational slogan one might see at a cheap neighborhood discount store.
And yet, it had become the new official slogan of Daeseung Shopping, the core retail affiliate of Daeseung Group, one of South Korea’s top ten conglomerates.
The phrase was plastered everywhere: TV commercials, full-page newspaper ads, online banners, even banners hanging from the exteriors of marts and department stores.
Of course, my official title was Vice Chairman. But with my grandfather, Chairman Kang Sinsu, bedridden, public opinion had already accepted me as the Group’s de facto owner and official successor, so it was not entirely wrong.
‘Grandpa’s the one who’s out of his mind, not me.’
.
Daeseung Shopping’s PR team office.
“Team Leader, did the Vice Chairman really approve that advertising slogan himself?”
A young employee asked with an incredulous expression.
Rubbing their temple as though exhausted, the team leader replied.
“I don’t know either. But the moment we submitted the proposal, it was approved in one second. Without changing a single word.”
“...”
The team members were speechless.
Every polished, classy design they had spent all night preparing had gone straight into the trash, while that slogan someone had written as a joke was approved without hesitation.
They could not begin to understand the new Vice Chairman’s way of thinking.
And so, with the provocative slogan, ‘The Chairman Has Gone Crazy!’, Daeseung Shopping’s aggressive discounts began.
The initial public reaction was cold.
Online communities and news comment sections were full of posts mocking Daeseung’s marketing.
[How much could they possibly be discounting to make this much fuss?]
[Isn’t it standard practice to secretly raise prices before the sale, then pretend to discount them while charging more than before? No suckers falling for it, right?]
[Anyway, what’s actually worth buying? Give us the short version.]
[They’ll obviously put out just a few bargain items to draw people in, make everyone rush there at opening, and call it a day. There’ll be a massive crowd, so I’d rather just order online in peace.]
[I heard Daeseung’s online mall is running the same discounts.]
Consumers had already been hardened by countless deceptive corporate sales.
The slogan ‘The Chairman Has Gone Crazy!’ was nothing more than inflammatory bait that only made them more suspicious.
There was also criticism that the marketing was tacky.
Still, on the first day of the event, enormous crowds flooded Daeseung Marts and department stores nationwide.
“Something’s bound to be cheap.”
“We needed groceries anyway. Want to check it out, even if it’s a scam?”
Families heading out casually for the weekend were the beginning.
Unsure whether to believe the childish ads that had thrown away a major corporation’s dignity, people still turned their cars toward Daeseung Mart parking lots, hoping there might be something to it.
.
Kang Daeun had clearly ordered an across-the-board 8 percent discount on all products, but the executives and Daeseung Shopping President Jo Eungsu interpreted it differently.
“What the Vice Chairman wants is not a literal 8 percent discount. He is telling us to devastate the market, even if our operating margin falls to 0 percent!”
Using that 8 percent margin as funding, the marketing team put the products customers wanted most at the forefront as unprecedented bargains.
Pork belly was sold below cost. Fresh eggs came two cartons for the price of one. The latest TVs and washing machines received price tags no competitor could possibly match.
Eight percent was only the beginning. The effective discount rate easily exceeded 20 or 30 percent.
At mart registers, department store food halls, and online shopping carts, people began to doubt their own eyes.
“Wait, why is this so cheap?”
“This is the price even without applying a coupon?”
There was no price manipulation and no item restrictions.
The rumors spread widely, from homemakers sensitive to grocery prices to young people living alone who carefully considered value for money.
.
“Did they leave something out of the total? This wasn’t the original price...”
A couple repeatedly compared the calculator on their smartphone with their receipt, tilting their heads in confusion.
The receipt was packed with hard-to-read entries for discounts, free gifts, and coupons, but the final amount was less than half of their usual weekend grocery budget.
And this miracle was not limited to one or two places.
All kinds of communities and social media platforms were quickly flooded with photos of receipts from Daeseung Marts and department stores.
[Guys, this is insane. Go to Daeseung Mart right now. I bought enough to make my cart burst and paid 50,000 won.]
[Is this real? It’s not just for today, right? I’m running there after work.]
[Top-grade 1++ Korean beef is less than half price. I bought two packs, grilled one, and stashed the other in the freezer. May the Chairman live a long, healthy lifeㅠㅠ]
In just half a day, public opinion filled with mockery and cynicism turned into frenzied praise.
Every Daeseung store in the country was so packed with people that there was barely room to step, and shelves emptied far faster than they could be restocked.
The slogan ‘The Chairman Has Gone Crazy!’ was no longer a childish joke. It had become the starting signal for a true value-for-money festival.
[But what’s with Daeseung? Weren’t they famous for never giving discounts?]
[I heard Chairman Kang Sinsu is at death’s door. Guess he really has gone crazy lol.]
[Is the Chairman your buddy or something?]
“I didn’t realize it was this cheap... It weirdly gets cheaper once you bring everything to the register. Can they really make a profit selling it like this?”
“But how long is this discount event supposed to last?”
No matter how thoroughly they searched the advertising flyers, there was no information about an end date.
“Huh? You’re right. It doesn’t say how long it lasts.”
The husband tilted his head as well.
“Don’t tell me it’s unlimited?”
“?”
The two stared at each other in disbelief.
Regardless of consumers’ confusion, Daeseung Shopping’s drastic moves began shaking the entire retail industry.
The first to sound the alarm was the industry’s number two company, Sujeong Mart.
.
Angry shouting rang out day after day from the president’s office at Sujeong Mart headquarters.
“How could that possibly make any sense?!”
The president of Sujeong Mart shouted, slamming a fist onto the desk.
In front of him stood procurement staff with their heads bowed, thoroughly intimidated.
“Nearly every major supplier we contacted has given us the same answer. Daeseung has not pressured them at all to lower supply prices, and they are currently supplying Daeseung at nearly the same price as they supply us.”
An executive delivered the report in a trembling voice, but the contents only poured fuel on the president’s anger.
“What? Then are you saying those bastards are really selling at a loss? Who the hell would be dumb enough to believe that?”
The president shouted again, face flushed red.
He was certain Daeseung’s actions were some sort of trick or a short-lived show.
But the suppliers’ testimony completely defied common sense and expectations.
If it was true, then the new Vice Chairman of Daeseung Group was truly insane.
.
President Jo Eungsu visited the Vice Chairman’s office.
“Vice Chairman. Did you see the documents I submitted for approval?”
“?”
“Business has been going so well lately. Requests to expand our stores have been pouring in from everywhere... So, about the additional purchase of mart sites we discussed last time.”
“Ah, that.”
I answered absently.
I had already skimmed the papers that morning, signed them, and sent them back down.
There was no reason to refuse when they wanted to spend more money.
“Yes, I approved all of them. Excellent. It’s a timely decision. What’s the point of leaving cash piled up in a vault? This is when we should spend freely.”
Lee Jinju’s eyebrows twitched slightly at my words.
President Jo immediately continued with the next report.
“As expected, Vice Chairman, you are truly generous! Ah, and there is more good news. It seems Seoseo Mart’s financial difficulties are more serious than expected. They have discreetly sounded us out about selling four prime branches in the Seoul metropolitan area, including their Suwon branch.”
“Really? That’s good. Let’s buy them all.”
I did not hesitate for even a second.
Was there a more certain way to throw away money than acquiring failing stores?
“Offer them the best possible terms, and tell them we will retain 100 percent of their employees. They will be joining our family. We can’t leave them out on the street.”
“Understood, Vice Chairman! I will proceed immediately!”
President Jo gave a deep ninety-degree bow and left the Vice Chairman’s office, practically thrilled.
‘Spend to your heart’s content. Let’s see how far you can go.’
With failing assets taken on and labor costs increased, that man’s incompetence would shine even more brightly.
.
These days, every day felt like heaven to President Jo Eungsu.
Who in the world hated spending money?
Especially when he was told to spend as much as he wanted, without restrictions.
Economic newspapers bombarded him with interview requests, publishing headlines such as “Young Leader Kang Daeun’s Aggressive Management” and “Daeseung Shopping’s Brilliant Counterattack.”
Best of all, no one pressured him for failing to make money.
On the contrary, the Chairman, no, the Vice Chairman, encouraged him to spend lavishly to take control of the market, even if he did not turn a profit.
What other workplace could offer this?
Of course, Kang Daeun had never said anything about taking control of the market.
“This is all thanks to the Vice Chairman. We need to work even harder! Spend money more boldly!”
President Jo clenched a fist.
To repay the Vice Chairman’s profound intentions, he spent day and night thinking of ways to spend more money.
Buy more mart sites, acquire rival marts, expand old distribution centers into state-of-the-art facilities, and build new ones.
The projects required enormous investments, but Jo Eungsu did not hesitate at all.
“It’s been a long time since I felt like this.”
President Jo felt his heart pounding fiercely again, just as it had when he first threw himself into starting a business with nothing in his youth.
The new Vice Chairman was a benefactor who had rekindled his fading passion.
“At this rate, reclaiming first place in the industry is no longer a dream!”
.
Competitor retailers, including Sujeong Mart, issued statements condemning Daeseung Shopping day after day.
They claimed Daeseung was destroying fair competition in the industry and encouraging a destructive price war that would eventually ruin everyone.
But their appeals did not work on consumers at all. Instead, they only provoked backlash.
“They’re willing to sell cheap at a loss, so why the hell are you making such a fuss?!”
“If you don’t like it, lower your own prices too!”
Even without Daeseung’s public relations team stepping in, online communities and news comment sections boiled with public opinion defending Daeseung Shopping and criticizing its competitors.
Of course, the presidents of those competitors were not idiots.
“In the end, we have to match their price cuts...”
But practical concerns held them back.
‘If I recklessly cut prices to match them and our profit margin gets destroyed, then quarterly results collapse, my own head will roll first.’
‘Would the shareholders sit quietly? They’d immediately demand my dismissal.’
This was the honest feeling of most professional managers at major companies, in other words, salaried CEOs.
Unless they were owners, it was difficult to make bold decisions while accepting a decline in short-term performance.
“Tch... They’ll wear themselves out and collapse eventually. How long can they keep this insanity up?”
“Right. The one who holds out wins. Let’s just endure a little longer and wait.”
And so, they comforted themselves and waited for Daeseung’s rampage to stop.
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