Black Label [EN]: Chapter 268

Black Label Extra Story 19

Among those who had solidified their position in the fashion world, the vast majority viewed Chairman Ardo with negativity.

Some often denigrated Chairman Ardo, saying he was “a man who would sell his own children if it made money.”

Every step he took was connected to ‘business,’ and he instinctively avoided decisions that would incur losses.

“That’s Chairman Ardo…”

“Double? How much is that…”

“It already feels overvalued…”

From the moment the auction price of the Devil Bag exceeded $3.8 million, it was no exaggeration to say it was the most expensive handbag in the world….

At the price that soared to $4 million, he boldly called for double, not only drastically raising the auction price but also overwhelming the audience.

– $8 million.

– Counting down.

– 10, 9, 8, 7, 6….

It was the moment the auctioneer started the countdown.

A middle-aged man mixed in with the crowd raised his hand.

He was also a big shot in the financial world, running a ‘famous investment firm’ on Wall Street.

– Alright, $8.1 million!

That’s when it happened.

– Ah….

The auctioneer let out a groan….

– Double again….

The audience, realizing that Chairman Ardo had called for double again, couldn’t hide their surprise and buzzed with excitement.

“$16.1 million…?”

Converted to Korean currency, it was a whopping 18.4 billion won….

– The auction price has soared to an amount no one could have imagined!

– Countdown again! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….

The CEO of the famous investment firm, who had not given up on the auction until the end, finally lowered his head without raising his hand.

The reason was simple.

‘No matter how much I bid…’

It was too obvious that Chairman Ardo would call ‘double’ again.

“Damn it…”

No matter how much he wanted it, he couldn’t spend such a huge sum of money that could acquire a decent company on a handbag.

Meanwhile.

The reason why Chairman Ardo purchased the Devil Bag, even while enduring astronomical expenses, was truly rational and simple.

‘It worked out as planned.’

What would happen if the fact that the ‘Devil Bag,’ which was like Wallflower’s high-end handbag, was sold at auction for a whopping $16.1 million became known to the world?

For the next few days, news outlets and all kinds of media would surely talk about the handbag sold for an astronomical amount whenever they had a chance.

In short, he could gain a tremendous noise marketing [marketing that generates buzz and attention] effect, and naturally increase the value of the Devil Bag.

The result was soon….

It could be seen as directly related to the value increase of ‘Lee,’ the creator and maker of the Devil Bag.

If the value of the Devil Bag increases, Lee’s value naturally rises as well.

And since Lee has proven his skills once again, he will become the new owner of the LVMH Group.

So, this was a series of ‘investments’ for the person who would inherit the throne of the fashion kingdom he had built.

“Lee…”

Through this show, Lee once again proved that his limits do not exist, as well as other possibilities.

“You’ve worked hard…”

That’s how Wallflower’s Paris Fashion Week fashion show, Jae-seung’s comeback stage, was successfully completed.

* * *

After that, Jae-seung had to spend his days busier than ever.

Work, work, work, work….

It was a daily life that only those who won at Fashion Week could enjoy.

“Hello?”

Numerous distribution brand ‘*MDs*’ [*Merchandisers*, individuals responsible for selecting and purchasing products for retail] contacted him to place product orders….

An uncountable number of media outlets approached him with the sole intention of conducting interviews….

In the meantime, as Chairman Ardo had anticipated, the Devil Bag attracted enormous attention.

『The most expensive handbag in the world is born!』

『Wallflower Devil Bag!』

『The identity of the $16,100,000 handbag!』

It wasn’t just the Devil Bag, of course.

Including haute couture….

Even the newly released clothing.

“It’s essential for this awards ceremony.”

“I’ve been buying dresses every year.”

“I’ll pay anything for it.”

Several celebrities fawned over him to purchase haute couture items….

“If you could give us the exclusive distribution of this season’s clothing for just a few days, we can pay you more than double the product price compared to the quantity.”

“Double?”

“No, we are willing to pay several times more. So please, give us the opportunity to distribute it first, even if it’s just for a few days….”

Some expressed it as an already determined course due to his success, while others called it an anomaly.

『Critic Jay, who lost the ‘donation bet’ with Lee, donates a large sum of about $100,000 divided among 8 organizations….』

『The immense influence of the person named Lee, regarding the personal worship phenomenon occurring around him….』

『In-depth exploration of the person, a study on the success secrets of designer ‘Lee’ with unchanging value….』

『Brand ‘Wallflower’ achieves a remarkable feat of increasing sales by more than 200% compared to the same period last year….』

To put it a bit exaggeratedly, it felt as if the whole world was revolving around him.

How many days had passed like that?

In the midst of spending endlessly hectic days, a fax suddenly arrived from the LVMH Group.

Beeeeep….

The fax machine made a loud noise and spat out a sheet of A4 paper, and Jae-seung picked up the paper with trembling hands.

“Could it be…”

It was a group official document handwritten by Chairman Ardo, and at the bottom was his carefully handwritten signature.

“Damn it, oh my god…”

The day he had been waiting for had come.

– Wishing to transfer shares and management rights.

He expressed his intention to delegate not only the shares of the LVMH Group he holds, but also the overall management rights to him in accordance with the procedures.

As promised….

He succeeded in proving himself once again at Paris Fashion Week, so it only seemed like the time had come to receive the throne of the fashion kingdom he had built throughout his life.

“LVMH Group…”

A group that boasts the largest scale of all fashion groups….

“It’s really in my hands…”

…was in Jae-seung’s hands.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

“Devil Bag…”

President Daytona of the Wall Street investment firm, who was outbid by Chairman Ardo and failed to obtain the Devil Bag, was deep in thought.

“You clearly said that it suits me well and promised to buy it for me no matter what, didn’t you?”

His wife, who was twenty years younger than him, was still talking about the ‘Devil Bag’ that she had not won at the auction that day, and was upset about it.

“Even if it’s not the Devil Bag, I need to get her a handbag with similar value to make her feel better…”

The moment his eyes met Chairman Ardo, who resembled a tiger, he unknowingly succumbed to his presence and gave up bidding.

If he had known this would happen, he would have tried ‘bidding’ a few more times without being intimidated by Chairman Ardo’s presence that day.

“Damn it…”

He showed her handbags from other premium brands ranging from millions of dollars to as much as ten million dollars, but it was completely useless.

Her interest was only focused on the Devil Bag that Lee had handmade.

“Hmm…”

That’s when it happened.

“Mr. President?”

His executive secretary asked.

“If you’re still worried about Madam’s handbag, I think some information I heard might be helpful…”

When he asked back in a lukewarm tone, “Information?”, the executive secretary nodded his head several times in a row and continued.

“I know that the handbags directly produced by the peerless designer ‘Lee’ are not only the Devil Bag…”

At those words, Daytona widened his eyes and asked back.

“Hey, is that true…?”

The executive secretary answered, “Yes, probably,” and then continued in a soft tone.

“According to what I heard in a fashion column before, there are about three more products besides the Devil Bag…”

“As many as three?”

“Yes, it’s a handbag that is Wallflower’s early product, and I saw in the column that only three were released as a limited edition at the time.”

Then he added.

“I think it’s reliable information because it’s what Lee directly revealed. I remember him revealing who the owners of two of them were.”

“Who is it?”

“First of all, one of the three is the CEO of the Korean branch of the premium brand Wallflower.”

At those words, President Daytona groaned.

He probably bought it for the purpose of ‘financial investment’ with a large sum of money.

He wouldn’t sell a product that would increase in value over time for immediate profit.

It would be difficult to purchase the Korean branch CEO’s handbag.

“What about the other two?”

The executive secretary continued again.

“I remember that Lee revealed that he gave one of the remaining two as a gift to his mother.”

At those words, President Daytona’s face darkened even more.

“Damn it, then it’s clear that getting that product will only be wishful thinking…”

He wouldn’t try to sell a handbag that his son made by hand.

Furthermore, even if the only condition was money, he would never sell it.

He tilted his head and asked again.

“Then what about the other one?”

“I heard it was distributed.”

“To general consumers?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

In the case of the last one, there seemed to be hope.

Even if it’s not as valuable as the Devil Bag, if he pays a large sum of money….

He saw hope that he could get it.

“I’ll have to inquire right away…”

He muttered lowly and asked back.

“So what’s the name of that bag?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t all bags have names?”

The executive secretary hesitated and continued.

“That’s probably…”

After a moment of silence.

“I heard it was Wallflower’s limited edition product. So, what is the product’s unique name…”

The executive secretary, who vaguely trailed off, continued again.

“For the Mom Edition.”

“For the Mom?”

“Yes, I remember exactly.”

She added again.

“It was the For the Mom Edition.”

He continued.

“I don’t care how much money it costs.”

“Yes.”

“Ten times, a hundred times, no, even a thousand times the release price is fine.”

He continued in a solemn and resolute tone.

“That bag…”

He continued with eyes gleaming with greed.

“Make sure to bring one of the For the Mom Editions to me by any means possible.”