Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

After listening to Phillips's assessment of the future development of various brands, Wang Feiyang was quite convinced, because his assessment was almost identical to the "facts" he knew.

There are so many fast fashion chain brands in the world, such as GAP and H&M, which have all made a name for themselves, but the only two brands that have truly achieved the most stable and successful development are ZARA and Uniqlo.

The owners of these two brands have both been among the world's richest people!

He then asked some questions about brand building and operation, and Phillips gave answers that satisfied Wang Feiyang.

The two talked for nearly three hours, during which Anna brought in coffee three times...

Finally, Wang Feiyang said with satisfaction:

"Mr. Phillips, you should have heard Anna say that our company's next step is to create a fast-chain brand, like ZARA and Uniqlo."

We've assembled our own design team, with headquarters in Moscow, and we aim to open our chain stores throughout Eastern Europe within three years!

Then expand into Asia, Europe and America, and go global!

If you were in charge of managing this brand, would you be confident?

Phillips didn't agree hastily, but cautiously asked, "How much funding does the company plan to allocate to building this brand, and has its specific positioning been determined?"

Wang Feiyang smiled and said, "The initial investment may not be too much, but it will be at least around 50 million rubles. However, I will continue to invest more funds in the future, about 20 to 30 million rubles per month, or even more."

His plan is to establish a new company specifically to operate his own chain brand. This new company will operate in the most formal way from the very beginning and must be completely separate from the business of "selling counterfeit goods".

This company continues to operate by making quick money selling counterfeit designer goods, then "funding" the brand companies...

After all, although this business sounds bad, and could even be considered illegal, it really can make money!

If all goes well, once the business stabilizes, this company will bring Wang Feiyang at least 30 million rubles in profit every month!

The chain brand company, on the other hand, is a "money-devouring behemoth"!

We need to assemble a design team, contact contract manufacturers, open directly operated stores, hire celebrities to endorse our products, and do GG advertising...

It's fair to say that there are expenses everywhere, and you can't expect to see any return on investment in the short term; it's all going out and no coming in!

Therefore, the sale of counterfeit high-end brands here may continue for another year or two to earn enough money to support the chain brands, until they get on track and start making money.

Phillips' face lit up with joy. The initial investment of 50 million rubles, with an additional 20 to 30 million rubles invested each month thereafter, was definitely a large sum of money!

This shows that this excessively young boss has a lot of ambition!

"As for brand positioning, I plan to combine the advantages of ZARA and Uniqlo. The styles should be fashionable enough, and the quality should be good enough!" Wang Feiyang added.

ZARA's clothes are indeed very fashionable, no one can deny that, after all, its designs are "borrowed" from major luxury brands.

However, its quality is really hard to describe. Many times, after washing it once, it shrinks and deforms and becomes unwearable!

Uniqlo, on the other hand, went to the other extreme. Its clothes don't have many styles and aren't fashionable, but the quality is indeed very good.

Wang Feiyang aims to create a brand that combines the advantages of both, with pricing comparable to ZARA (ZARA's prices are higher than Uniqlo's).

As for profit margins, Wang Feiyang is not worried.

Perhaps ZARA's own production system is highly efficient and impressive, but with thousands of garment factories across China as its backing, its costs can definitely be lower than ZARA's!

The initial production cycle may not be as long as ZARA's because the volume is not large enough, and the priority of ordering to the OEM factory is definitely not high.

But once its scale increases, the corresponding domestic processing plants will also pay more attention to their orders, and their production efficiency may not be inferior to ZARA's!

It's important to know that almost all of Uniqlo's clothes are produced and processed in China. It is precisely because of China's strong production chain that Uniqlo was able to compete with ZARA, taking away a significant market share from ZARA with lower prices and better quality.

ZARA's decision to locate all its production bases in Spain has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it is indeed very efficient, as it controls the entire production chain. However, the disadvantage is that labor costs are too high, making it difficult to reduce costs.

…………

Clearly, Wang Feiyang's idea was highly endorsed by Phillips, who also felt that if the advantages of ZARA and Uniqlo could be combined, the resulting brand would definitely be able to compete with those two brands in the future, even if it started later.

Next, we'll discuss individual job positions and compensation.

"In the new company, you will serve as the general manager. Except for finance, you will be in charge of everything else. However, since you've been given sufficient authority, you must also bear the corresponding responsibilities. My requirement is to establish the company's overall framework, ensure all personnel are in place, officially launch the first batch of products, and open at least five directly operated chain stores within one year!"

Wang Feiyang said this with an unquestionable air, looking directly at Phillips.

Phillips's expression was somewhat serious. He knew very well what Wang Feiyang's demands meant; the pressure was immense!

However, being able to build a brand from scratch is a dream for any professional, and he simply couldn't refuse...

"No problem, boss!" Phillips nodded emphatically and said firmly.

Since he's already calling him "boss," it means he's willing to work for Wang Feiyang's new company.

"Regarding personal compensation, let's tentatively set the base salary at three thousand US dollars initially. However, as the company's general manager, you are entitled to profit sharing. As long as the company operates smoothly, you will be given certain stock incentives in the future," Wang Feiyang continued.

He is not stingy with money when it comes to truly talented people; he is willing to offer high salaries and stock options, as long as they can achieve results, money is a small matter.

Phillips was a little excited when he heard this. Although the salary was still a bit low compared to his previous salary, it was definitely a very high salary in Moscow!

More importantly, Wang Feiyang promised him equity incentives in the future!

For any high-level employee, obtaining company shares is the ultimate dream, which means you can leap from employee to shareholder!

"Don't worry, boss, I will definitely set up the new company with the highest efficiency. As long as the funds are in place, I can be on the job anytime," Phillips assured him, patting his chest.

Wang Feiyang nodded in satisfaction. "We can start working on the preliminary preparations now. The funds should be in place in about a month."