章 33: Chapter 33: Paris Angel Trading Company
Chapter 33: Paris Angel Trading Company
In the 18th century, life moved at a pace as slow as clouds drifting across the sky.
Although Joseph was aware of the rush among the noblewomen and young ladies at Versailles to buy Angel Water, the news from the stores didn't reach him until the evening of the next day, when the assistant to his beautician brought it back.
"So, you sold a total of 1,460 livres?" Joseph looked at the young man in surprise. "40 bottles?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Those ladies and noblewomen were all bidding against each other to buy it. It was impossible to get it at the original price. I heard that in the 'Elegance Source' store, their attendants almost got into a fight."
Joseph let out a long sigh. A miscalculation—he sold it too cheaply!
It seems his heart wasn't ruthless enough...
He didn't fully grasp how deep the noblewomen's purses were...
Nor did he fully trust in the Queen's influence in the world of fashion...
Reflecting on his mistake, Joseph decided to make a change—raise the price!
Of course, he couldn't just mark up the existing product; that would look too greedy.
Joseph realized that his initial business plan was too hasty and hadn't fully tapped into Angel Water's commercial potential.
He immediately returned to his study and began writing furiously, filling more than ten pages before revising them several times until he was finally satisfied.
In the "business plan" before him, the previous version of Angel Water was now labeled as the "trial version" and would be discontinued. The official version of Angel Water was divided into three tiers: Luxury Edition, Premium Edition, and Standard Edition.
Market segmentation to target noblewomen with varying spending power!
The Standard Edition would have the same ingredients and packaging as before, but with a reduced capacity of 4 ounces and a price of 14 livres.
The Premium Edition would add a bit of olive oil and come in a heart-shaped glass bottle with a brass outer box, priced at 26 livres for 4 ounces.
The Luxury Edition, based on the Premium Edition, would include a small amount of lanolin and add lavender, jasmine, and helichrysum essential oils—essentially just different fragrances. The bottle would be shaped like the flower associated with the fragrance and packaged in a silver box, priced at 50 livres for 4 ounces.
Additionally, Joseph planned to develop a series of Angel Water products.
His first choice was face masks.
He had seen the masks of this era—most were directly applied to the face, while others were like masks that covered the face. The modern fabric sheet masks with holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth hadn't appeared yet.
And making these was incredibly simple: just make face-shaped fabric sheets and soak them in Angel Water without the thickening agent. Done.
Given the frenzy among Versailles noblewomen for beauty products over the past few days, it was clear that face masks would have a strong market.
Joseph also categorized the face masks into three tiers.
The Luxury Edition used silk, the Premium Edition used wool, and the Standard Edition used cotton. They were all single-use products meant to be discarded after use. The prices were set at 5 livres for the Luxury Edition, 3 livres for the Premium Edition, and 2 livres for the Standard Edition.
In addition to the masks, the product line would include hand cream, foot cream, toner...
These were essentially the same as Angel Water, with slight adjustments to the glycerin and salicylic acid ratios or adding more lanolin. A new package and name, and you had a new product—this was a common trick in the modern cosmetics industry.
Along with expanding the product line, Joseph also revamped the marketing plan.
Relying on consignment sales wasn't enough—direct sales through exclusive stores were more professional.
He would implement a VIP membership system with Gold, Silver, and Standard membership cards. The Gold and Silver cards would be made of real gold and silver, with a strong sense of ceremony, emphasizing luxury.
Finally, he would establish a franchise model to spread across Europe!
Looking at the thick stack of business plans, Joseph realized this had grown beyond something he could casually handle alone. He needed a company and a large number of employees to support such a vast enterprise.
He immediately gathered all his attendants and began assigning tasks.
The accountant would lead a team to purchase raw materials like glycerin and order bottles and packaging. They would also sign long-term contracts with suppliers to ensure a stable supply chain.
The beautician, with a few maids, would be responsible for bottling Angel Water. For now, they would release 200 bottles a day on the market, increasing production once the exclusive stores were ready.
The lawyer would register a company in Joseph's name.
At this point, Joseph, who struggled with naming things, paused again. After thinking for a while, he decided the company name should emphasize its connection to Angel Water, so it was finally named "Paris Angel Trading Company."
As for the company's location, management, and hiring employees, he wasn't worried.
All the bottles and packaging for the cosmetics were custom-made by shops in Paris, and raw materials like glycerin and essential oils were readily available on the market. "Paris Angel Trading" would only be responsible for the final steps of bottling, packaging, and sales.
These tasks didn't require any particular skills, so workers would be easy to hire. As for management and sales, in a commercial hub like Paris, finding talent would be no problem.
Moreover, most of the Prince's personal attendants were idle, so they could step in temporarily if necessary.
The only crucial element—salicin—was strictly controlled by Joseph, and not even Lamarck knew that what he was refining for the Prince was actually a cosmetic ingredient.
So even if every hired employee defected, they wouldn't be able to replicate even a drop of Angel Water.
After assigning all the tasks, Joseph found himself with free time again. Seeing that it was still early, he asked Emon to prepare a carriage to go to Paris, intending to personally select a location for the exclusive store.
The carriage bumped along for several hours before finally entering the city of Paris just after noon.
Emon suddenly pointed out the window, "Your Highness, that perfume workshop of yours—oh, it's now a pharmaceutical workshop—is over there."
Sure enough, Joseph saw a sizeable estate by a small tributary of the Seine, with a large waterwheel slowly turning on its eastern side.
He told Emon, "Let's go take a look."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The estate was vast, with over ten buildings of varying sizes and an area larger than two basketball courts.
The gatekeeper, noticing Joseph and his entourage's noble bearing, didn't dare to stop them and eagerly led them inside.
Soon, Lamarck appeared, wearing an apron, and greeted Joseph with a bow. "Your Highness, what brings you here?"
Joseph smiled and returned the bow, "I wanted to open a store in Paris, so I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness," Lamarck replied. "Actually, I was hoping to discuss something with you."
"Oh? What is it? Please, go ahead."
Lamarck gestured toward the workshop. "We originally had over 40 workers here, but producing salicin doesn't require nearly that many. Should we dismiss some of them or assign them to continue making perfume?"
More workers are always a good thing! Joseph immediately instructed, "Don't dismiss anyone, and don't make perfume. Purchase more equipment and expand salicin production—they'll have plenty to do."
His goal was to turn "Paris Angel Trading Company" into a luxury brand empire that would dominate Europe and reach America, so the demand for core raw materials would be enormous.
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