Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 883: Changes in Aiyi International

Faced with Mrs. Tanaka's sudden statement, Hanyu Hideki was surprised, but did not ask any reasons, but just expressed his attitude.

"Mrs. Tanaka, I need you to stay at Ai Yi International. At least for a short period of time, Ai Yi International cannot do without you."

Mrs. Tanaka asked in return, "What do you want to wait for, Hanyu-san? Wait for Ophelia Abel to grow up?"

Hanyu Hideki fell into silence, seemingly considering how to respond.

Mrs. Tanaka continued, "I plan to train Ophelia to be my successor. She is indeed very good, but not good enough."

Hanyu Hideki asked, "Is it because of Bernard Arnault?"

Mrs. Tanaka answered honestly, "Yes, this person has performed extremely well since he joined the Strategic Development Decision-making Department."

Upon hearing this, Hanyu Hideki wanted to say that Bernard Arnault was more than just excellent.

In another time and space, this person was known as the founder of the LVMH empire, the Napoleon of the luxury goods industry, and a legend in the luxury goods field.

Compared with the other party's performance in another time and space, his current achievements in the Strategic Development Decision-making Department of Ai Yi International can only be regarded as a small test.

But the problem is that while Bernard Arnault is extremely capable, he also has great ambitions and ruthless business skills that are unimaginable to ordinary people.

This is why Bernard Arnault is also known as "the wolf in a cashmere coat" in the business world.

If the Ayi International of this time and space is handed over to Bernard Arnault for management, the other party will definitely perform extremely well.

But Mrs. Tanaka is not Hideki Hanyu. Once she completely withdraws from management and gradually delegates power to Bernard Arnault, it is very likely that Bernard Arnault will become bigger in AI International.

After all, although Hideki Hanyu is not afraid of Bernard Arnault, he is confident that he can suppress Bernard Arnault with the advantages of being a time traveler and the existing resources.

But the problem is that Hideki Hanyu has too many things to focus on.

Although Ayi International is very successful, it does not mean that he will give up other industries and focus on the business of Ayi International.

Therefore, he needed Mrs. Tanaka to continue to stay in Ayi International to help him suppress Bernard Arnault first, wait for the expansion of Ayi International to enter a stable period, and wait for the strategic development decision-making department to become more mature.

By then, even if Ophelia Abel's abilities and skills were not as good as Bernard Arnault's, she would be able to use the collective strength to fight against him and maintain the balance of power.

But the problem is that there are many questions about Bernard Arnault that Hideki Hanyu cannot explain.

After all, Bernard Arnault is now a capable, visionary and outstanding manager.

In any company, such management is worth cultivating and entrusting with important tasks. There is currently no problem with Mrs. Tanaka being optimistic about Bernard Arnault.

While Hanyu Hideki was still thinking, Mrs. Tanaka continued speaking.

“You should also know that after Arnault entered the Strategic Decision Development Department, he demonstrated strong capabilities in the expansion of wine brands and the subsequent acquisition of beauty brands.

Not only me, but the entire board was very happy with it.

Recently, Arnault again made new development suggestions to AII International at the board meeting.

He said that relying solely on brand acquisitions for expansion would certainly allow Ayi International to develop rapidly, but the management after the acquisition would be too simple and crude.

He submitted a development proposal to "promote the strategic integration of multiple brands to maximize benefits."

Mrs. Tanaka said this and took out a document from the side and handed it to Hanyu Hideki.

The document was written in French. Hideki Hanyu could speak French, but not enough to read professional documents.

But fortunately the document comes with English and Japanese translations.

Just looking at the state of the translated attachment, it is obvious that it has been read by Mrs. Tanaka many times. It can be seen that Mrs. Tanaka must like this proposal very much.

As soon as Hanyu Hideki took the document and opened it, Mrs. Tanaka began to introduce it at the right time.

"In Arnault's proposal, he hopes to maximize the scale of the group and to branch out marketing based on product types rather than brands.

Then a shared service center was built for the branch to provide legal, financial, patent, business intelligence, human resources and other assistance for product marketing.

In this case, costs can also be reduced by bringing together the purchasing and R&D teams for the same type of products.

He also mentioned that in order to ensure brand independence, production plans and production bases can be separated.

He also felt that when AIYI International launched new products, it relied on its good relationship with the media and its own upstream advantages to often abuse its bargaining power when facing distributors, which was very wrong.

In his opinion, if a brand’s new product wants to gain favor with dealers, be liked by consumers, and win market position, it should not rely on pressure from the group, but on the product itself and marketing efforts.

Once people get used to getting something for nothing, designers and marketers will lose their market sense and become out of touch with the real needs of the market.

Of course, Arnault has repeatedly emphasized that the bottom line of making full use of economies of scale is not to affect the independence of the brand, or to say, not to affect the uniqueness of the brand in the minds of consumers.

In the face of ever-changing advertising models, he suggested that the group should set up a department dedicated to connecting with the media and finding sponsorships, so that product advertisements can appear at better times and locations, which can also significantly reduce advertising costs.

......"

Mrs. Tanaka described the event in detail.

Hideki Hanyu was also carefully looking at the contents of this proposal.

He had to admit that Bernard Arnault's ability and vision were truly outstanding.

Hideki Hanyu felt that if he did not rely on the advantages of being a time traveler, he would definitely not be qualified to be the opponent of this "wolf in a cashmere coat" in terms of ability alone.

The content of the other party's proposal is far more than what Mrs. Tanaka said. It is completely the "core secret" of the success of the LVMH Group in another time and space.

The various strategies included are truly insightful, feasible, and highly operational. Basically, they can be used right away and produce immediate results.

It is no wonder that Mrs. Tanaka admires Bernard Arnault so much and cannot put this proposal down. She read through it so many times that she can almost memorize it.

If Hideki Hanyu didn't know what kind of person Bernard Arnault was, he would probably be attracted to such a talent.

A talent who was once defeated by him but then turned around and joined his team and devoted himself to contributing to the development of the company is extremely rare no matter how you look at it.

This also made Hideki Hanyu start to rub his eyebrows in annoyance as soon as he put down the document after quickly reading Bernard Arnault's proposal.

Mrs. Tanaka, who was unaware of the situation, couldn't help but look puzzled when she saw this, wondering why Hanyu Hideki had such an expression.

However, she could never figure out what Hanyu Hideki was thinking, so she didn't ask any more questions, but waited quietly for Hanyu Hideki to speak.

After a moment, Hanyu Hideki pointed to the document in front of him and asked, "What is the board's attitude towards this document?"

“Everyone is very supportive.”

Mrs. Tanaka's answer was not what Hanyu Hideki expected.

Bernard Arnault, who has made continuous achievements, has submitted such an outstanding development proposal. It is only natural that the board of directors approves it.

After all, even he appreciated this proposal very much.

In Hideki Hanyu's view, this was Bernard Arnault's conspiracy.

At this moment, unless Hideki Hanyu uses his controlling rights to forcibly reject the proposal, Bernard Arnault's proposal will definitely be passed by the board of directors.

But even if he had such power, he couldn't do it.

Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.

The same is true for managing a large multinational group consisting of multiple companies.

He cannot suppress a capable and outstanding senior executive just because of his prejudices. This will only discourage all employees in the group who are willing to work.

In the long run, forced suppression may feel good for a while, but it will do more harm than good.

Besides, he actually wanted to utilize Bernard Arnault's abilities more than Mrs. Tanaka and the board of directors of Ayi International.

Otherwise, he could have stopped Bernard Arnault from joining the board of directors and the strategic decision-making and development department with just one word.

Therefore, the proposal in front of him must be used, but how to use it is the problem he needs to consider now.

He asked Mrs. Tanaka directly, "If I'm not mistaken, Bernard Arnault wants to be the head of this new department, the 'Shared Services Center'."

Mrs. Tanaka nodded, “Yes, he took the initiative to express his hope to be the head of this department.

The board of directors and I also believe that since the idea of ​​this department was proposed by Arnault, it is most appropriate to let him set up and manage it. "Hearing Mrs. Tanaka's answer, Hanyu Hideki suddenly smiled.

Under Mrs. Tanaka's strange gaze, he slowly spoke, "Let me guess again, he must have told the board of directors that this so-called shared service center requires a relatively independent operating environment."

"That's true. He said the shared service center serves the group's existing brands and cannot be affected by the group's acquisition strategy, so it must be an independent department."

When Mrs. Tanaka answered, her face showed a look of how could you know, after all, there was no such content in the proposal.

"Ha ha……"

Hideki Hanyu smiled but said nothing.

The reason why he can make the above speculation is very simple. Although he is not the builder of the shared service center, he knows Bernard Arnault.

This person's ambition will not disappear because of a failure.

If you are able to bend and stretch yourself under the command of your opponent, the opponent's ambitions will definitely be great.

At this time, Hideki Hanyu had roughly guessed the other party's plan.

After his failure, Bernard Arnault did not give up on the LVMH Group. To be more precise, he set his sights on a bigger target, AI International.

Bernard Arnault realized that the Strategic Decision-making and Development Department of Ay International was the core department of the entire group, and its actual power was even greater than that of the group president and the board of directors.

Therefore, he formed alliances with small forces on the board of directors to help him enter the strategic decision-making and development department.

But soon after, he discovered that within the Strategic Decision-making and Development Department, there was a "successor" named Ophelia Abel who was being trained by the group's top management.

Even if Bernard Arnault was confident that he could surpass Ophelia Abel in ability, it would take too long, which did not fit his idea of ​​quickly seizing power.

Moreover, even if he defeated Ophelia Abel, he could not escape the constraints of Ophelia Abel, who was highly respected by the upper management, in the Strategic Decision-making and Development Department.

Therefore, starting a new business in AI International became his most important goal.

Bernard Arnault first demonstrated his extraordinary talents by developing the wine business and acquiring La Roche-Posay, winning the appreciation and trust of AIE International.

Bernard Arnault then presented this development proposal that everyone approved of and used it to gain power over the new department's shared service center.

With Bernard Arnault's vision, how could he not see that although AIYI International had become strong through acquisitions and expansion, this strength required real management to be realized.

The former is controlled by the Strategic Development Decision-making Department.

The latter will fall into the hands of the newly established shared service center.

As time goes by, the acquisition momentum will inevitably slow down, and the weight of operations will be greater than acquisitions.

By that time, the importance of the Shared Service Center in AIYI International will inevitably surpass the Strategic Decision-making and Development Department and become the new power center of the group.

Bernard Arnault, who set up the shared service center and actually controls this department, will be able to take control of AI International indirectly.

Now that the matter is done, unless Hideki Hanyu is willing to risk the turmoil of the entire group and forcibly expel Bernard Arnault, he will have no choice but to accept the result.

Of course, this is just a simple description. Bernard Arnault will definitely come up with more means in this process to achieve his goal of usurping the throne.

What can Hideki Hanyu say?

Even if he told Mrs. Tanaka about this guess now, she would just think he was thinking too much.

All I can say is that Bernard Arnu is too capable, too ambitious, and too smart...

But, that's what makes it interesting, isn't it?

For Hideki Hanyu's business empire, AIYI International is just one part of it.

But if he could fight wits and courage with the strong men he was familiar with in his previous life in this link, and use them like walking on a tightrope, it would definitely add a lot of fun to his life of time travel.

After all, in this unequal "game", the initiative is completely in his hands, and his capital is enough for him to be willful, even if he fails many times.

Even if the other party succeeded, what would happen? He risked causing unrest in Ai Yi International by overturning the table, but it would not hurt his bones at all.

But the other party doesn't even have the money to fail once.

Bernard Arnault can only try his best to help Ayi International develop and strive for the only chance of success.

Thinking of this, Hideki Hanyu felt relieved.

He knocked on the table and said to Mrs. Tanaka.

“Bernard Arnault’s suggestion is very good, and I think it is highly feasible and can be implemented in AII.

but……"

When Hanyu Hideki said "but", Mrs. Tanaka naturally understood that there were other conditions that were not mentioned, so she continued to listen to Hanyu Hideki's words.

Although she admires Bernard Arnault now, she trusts Hideki Hanyu more, so no matter what Hideki Hanyu's final decision is, Mrs. Tanaka will strictly implement it.

“However, although I agree that the new department should be managed independently, I do not agree that it should operate independently.

Today, it is not the time for AIYI International to put away its weapons and let its horses go to the mountains. We still need to continue our strategic expansion, not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Asia.

At this time, the group's resources and power cannot be overly dispersed, so the shared service center must serve the overall strategy and exist as part of the strategic decision-making and development department. "

Finally, Hanyu Hideki said generously, "Since the shared service center was proposed by Bernard Arnault, we should give him the position of person in charge according to the opinion of the board of directors.

I will speak to my people and have them support this decision on the board.”

Mrs. Tanaka asked, "Does Hanyu-san have any other instructions?"

"No, it's decided."

Hideki Hanyu's casual words determined the next internal changes of AIYI International.

And this kind of power is exactly what Bernard Arnault has been trying so hard to obtain.

Next, it depends on Bernard Arnault's performance.

His change of incorporating the shared service center into the Strategic Decision Development Department, although it did not deprive Bernard Arnault of control over the new department, left a back door for the Strategic Decision Development Department to interfere in the new department.

In this situation, Bernard Arnault would be able to complete his plans and achieve his ambitions despite the constraints.

So what if Hideki Hanyu handed over his power in AI International to Bernard Arnault?
After Hanyu Hideki made his decision, Mrs. Tanaka did not continue to raise the issue.

After all, Bernard Arnault has been given an important position. Even if there is some deviation from the original idea, the outcome seems to be similar on the surface.

As for her previous idea of ​​resigning as president of AI International, Mrs. Tanaka also did not mention it again.

Since Hanyu Hideki wants her to stay a little longer, she will stay a little longer.

In comparison, she was actually more interested in what Hanyu Hideki had just said.

"Hanyu-san just said that AI International's expansion should focus on the Asian part. Is there any Asian brand that Hanyu-san has taken a fancy to?"

In fact, last year, Mrs. Tanaka bought a Japanese cosmetics company under the instructions of Hideki Hanyu.

However, the acquirer was not AIYI International, but Hideki Hanyu's Hanyu Investment.

After the acquisition was completed, Hideki Hanyu seemed to have given part of the shares of the cosmetics company to different women, but that was not her concern.

“I don’t have a specific goal yet, but as we can see from the Japanese market, the Asian market has great potential. You have also seen the changes in our investment in China over the years.

Therefore, do not underestimate the entire Asian market. It has not even started to gain momentum yet, and we cannot wait until the market starts to gain momentum before entering. We must prepare for the rainy day.”

At this point, Hanyu Hideki suddenly had an idea, "Let Ophelia Abel be in charge of the new Asian expansion strategy. Since we are optimistic about her ability, we must give her enough opportunities to practice."

In Hideki Hanyu's opinion, giving Bernard Arnault's competitors a chance to level up will make the subsequent confrontation more evenly matched, right?

Since the two companies are engaged in different business directions, they can only hope to do better than the other and completely overwhelm their opponent.

This kind of healthy competition is exactly what Hideki Hanyu and AI International investors want to see.

(End of this chapter)