America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 100 Chain Reaction

The popularity of "Playboy Spy" was like a sudden tsunami, and the chain reaction it triggered was so intense and its impact so far-reaching that it far exceeded most people's expectations.

The entire American entertainment and business industries were swept up by this sudden wave, plunging into an unprecedented upheaval.

The atmosphere inside LBrands' headquarters building in New York City was unusually somber.

CEO Leslie Wexner paced anxiously in his spacious, luxurious office, overlooking the dazzling New York skyline, but he had no time to appreciate it.

His close friend Epstein sat on the leather sofa opposite him, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his eyes filled with an unfathomable, complex emotion.

"Can we strike at them through official means?" Wexner abruptly stopped, his voice trembling slightly with urgency.

The success of "Playboy Spy" was nothing short of a devastating disaster for Victoria's Secret.

This is not only a sharp decline in brand influence, but also a disruption to Wexner's grand plans that he had meticulously crafted long ago.

Epstein's appearance made Wexner see another huge value of Victoria's Secret besides selling lingerie: the glamorous models on the runway and magazine covers.

Through these models, Wexner was able to meet many high-ranking and influential figures, successfully entering higher-level social circles, which greatly enhanced his social status and network of contacts.

Today, Victoria's Secret is no longer just an ordinary lingerie brand. Under Wexner's management, it has evolved into a secret stage for selecting concubines, becoming a shortcut for him to climb the pyramid of power.

But now everything has changed. The sudden emergence of "Playboy Spy" was like a boulder crashing down on his road to success, becoming an insurmountable stumbling block.

For Wexner, the name Ernst had now become a fierce obstacle in his path.

Those bigwigs who once surrounded Victoria's Secret are now showing obvious signs of weariness with the models, finding them uninteresting and unoriginal.

On the contrary, the unique and charming models in Playboy Spydour caught their eye and became their new object of admiration.

Wexner was well aware that there was a huge gap between himself and Ernst, both in terms of company size and personal wealth, and this gap made him feel deeply powerless.

In this situation, the only way he could think of was to use official channels and the so-called "public opinion" to bring down the other side.

"It's difficult," Epstein said bluntly, without offering any agreement or support simply because they were good friends.

"And if that were to happen, what would happen to Victoria's Secret? The only excuse they could come up with would be that it's immoral and involves vulgarity and pornography, but Victoria's Secret itself faces the same problem."

Wexner couldn't care less about anything else at this point; his face contorted with rage. "If things continue like this, Victoria's Secret is doomed. Rather than waiting to die, we might as well go down together and put both sides on the same starting line."

He paused, his tone laced with a hint of ruthlessness, "Those big shots have enjoyed so many services from Victoria's Secret, it's time for them to do their part."

But the answer he received was still the same: "I've already said it, it's difficult."

"Pimping alone won't work; Hollywood is the originator of this in the United States. Don't forget, Playboy is backed by MGM."

"Although MGM has declined considerably in recent years, it is still one of the seven major Hollywood studios. In the absence of many conflicts of interest, the entire Hollywood will side with MGM and choose to unite against external threats."

Despite the cutthroat competition and constant infighting among Hollywood studios, with their various underhanded tactics and schemes aimed at crushing each other in one fell swoop, the reality is that Hollywood is a place where the various companies are constantly plotting against each other.

However, when it comes to external threats, the major forces in Hollywood have shown remarkable tacit understanding and unity.

Everyone knows perfectly well that Hollywood is like an independent kingdom within their own circle. No matter how much internal power struggles and infighting occur, the ultimate interests still circulate within this circle, like meat rotting in a pot.

But once the defenses are breached by external forces, the entire kingdom will crumble little by little, like a dam being eaten away by ants.

"Could we learn from their model and produce a similar program?" Epstein suggested after a moment's thought.

Upon hearing this question, Wexner rejected it almost without hesitation. "That's impossible. Putting aside the production costs, the distribution channels alone would be a huge problem."

"Now the whole of America knows that Victoria's Secret is in a bad situation. Do you think those TV stations will give us a reasonable contract?" he asked rhetorically, his tone full of helplessness and resentment.

"If the show is successful, that's fine; we can just consider it a huge investment to shut down Victoria's Secret. But if the show's ratings are lower than expected, Victoria's Secret will not only face financial difficulties but also lose its reputation and brand image."

Plagiarism is severely punished in the United States.

This is not only reflected in the legal realm, but also in the strong resistance from the public to plagiarists. Once a brand is labeled as a plagiarist, the damage to the brand will be devastating.

"What about a partnership? We and Playboy are both among the largest and most well-known brands in the lingerie industry. If we choose to partner, could we unify the American lingerie market?"

Wexner let out a disdainful snort and retorted, "If you were Ernst, do you think you would choose to cooperate in this situation? In the end, it will only be Playboy Group acquiring LBrands. How can there be any fair cooperation?"

The office fell into a deathly silence, the air thick with a sense of oppression.

After a long silence, Epstein finally spoke slowly, "If you want those guys to actually do something, you'll have to give up a portion of LBrands' shares."

Wexner's pupils dilated instantly, but after a moment, he regained his composure and glanced at Epstein without making a sound.

A thought flashed through his mind: were the merger and plagiarism models he mentioned earlier all pre-arranged steps? Was this Epstein's real purpose?

For the first time, Wexner felt that he might not have fully understood this so-called close friend.

He didn't know whether those powerful figures truly had such enormous appetites, or whether Epstein wanted to take L...

He used Brands' shares to curry favor with people in order to advance his own agenda.

The exact reason remained unclear to Wexner. At least on the surface, Epstein appeared perfectly composed, revealing no flaws whatsoever.

"I'll think about it some more," Wexner said, his tone tinged with uncertainty and hesitation.

While Wexner and Epstein were racking their brains and arguing about the future of Victoria's Secret in their office, Wall Street in New York was also shaken by Playboy's amazing marketing campaign.

"More than two million units sold in a single day?" John Reed, CEO of Citigroup, stared at the data report with disbelief on his face.

"That's right, boss." The secretary nodded firmly, her tone very certain.

"Underwear?" John Reed asked again, seemingly unable to believe it.

"That's right," the secretary replied affirmatively once again.

John Reed felt like he'd been ripped out, and he began to carefully examine the data report in his hand.

Are these new Playboy lingerie items expensive? It depends on which brand you're comparing them to.

Compared to luxury and accessible luxury brands, Playboy's lingerie can be considered a high-end, affordable brand.

However, compared to those mainstream brands, Playboy's underwear is definitely more expensive than many other brands.

A set of underwear ranges in price from $99 to $299, with an average price of around $170.

In other words, in just one day, Playboy made a whopping $200 million from these lingerie alone.

John Reed felt for the first time that playing in finance didn't seem very interesting, and that he might as well switch careers and sell underwear.

People always say that Wall Street is a bunch of robbers, but now it seems, who are the real plunderers?

John Reed could no longer remain calm, especially when he saw the cost breakdown of these lingerie items.

"Most of Playboy's lingerie is made in China. After deducting all labor, tariffs, and other costs, the average cost of a set of lingerie is less than $38?"

The secretary nodded. "That's right, sir. Although we don't know the exact cost of these Playboy lingerie items, based on the data we obtained from customs and other relevant agencies, that's roughly the situation. However, this doesn't include advertising costs and taxes that need to be paid later."

John Reed nearly cursed aloud. Advertising expenses? What a joke.

Playboy's biggest advertising expense is the "Playboy Spy" program; the investment in it may not even be as high as the revenue from selling the rights.

In other words, their advertising not only didn't cost them any money, but it also became a profitable business.

As for paying taxes, you only need to pay taxes if you make a profit; why pay taxes if you lose money?

John Reed could tell with his toes that Playboy would definitely suffer losses this year.

Given the current market situation Playboy has established, a large-scale store expansion is inevitable.

Currently, Playboy has relatively few stores across the United States, totaling less than one hundred, while overseas brands operate through trademark licensing.

Reclaiming overseas trademark licenses is an inevitable trend, and a portion of the funds will be used as compensation for this operation.

Then comes expansion across the country, followed by the development of a global strategy.

Is it possible to make money under such circumstances?

John Reed even dared to make a bold statement: if Playboy could turn a profit within three years, he would cut off his own head and give it to his secretary to kick around like a ball.

If Playboy had gone even further, he could have transformed into a real estate company like McDonald's.

Buy land globally and then open up franchising opportunities.

Franchisees do not have the right to choose their own locations; the decision is made by the Playboy Group, which creates immeasurable profit potential.

"How much MGM stock do we at Citigroup hold?" John Reed suddenly asked.

Without hesitation, the secretary replied, "More than ten million shares, accounting for about 3.76% of the total share capital."

"Contact Ernst and ask him if he's interested in acquiring these shares," John Reed decided.

The secretary immediately understood the other party's intention: to take the initiative to ease tensions.

Previously, Ernst wanted to acquire MGM's stock, but John Reed rejected the offer outright because of Google, which strained the relationship between the two parties.

But now the situation is different. Ernst has once again proven his strength, and the Playboy Group has shown signs of a resurgence.

Both Playboy Group and MGM will go public in the future. MGM's newly established content production company, television network, and other subsidiaries have shown great development potential.

As CEO of Citigroup, John Reed's primary responsibility was to generate returns for shareholders.

If the relationship between the two sides continues to be so deadlocked, it will be too late to ease tensions once these MGM-affiliated companies are actually preparing for their IPOs.