The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 59

59. Became a Villain of a Conglomerate Family – Ruler of the Era 02 –

***

Thanks to JP Services, Victoria Corporation had grown larger than Jung Hyun-woo had anticipated.

‘Sigh, I didn’t intend to create such a large company.’

The number of JP Services installation technicians spread across the United States was approximately 1,100.

The salaries for these technicians alone exceeded one million dollars per month.

Tap.

Sarah closed the ledger and furrowed her brow.

“This month’s total expenditure is 4.3 million dollars.”

“Since the revenue is 7.2 million dollars, that means roughly 2.9 million dollars is left.”

Sarah shook her head.

“Charlie, you can’t calculate it that way.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“Isn’t the total expenditure already including the loan interest?”

Victoria Corporation had taken out a 10 million dollar loan from JP Morgan Bank due to the expansion of JP Services.

The total expenditure included the interest on this loan, as he had stated.

“Accountants might calculate it that way, but businessmen also need to consider the recovery of investment.”

Jung Hyun-woo groaned softly at her point.

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

He was being told that the costs of the game shops across the United States, the modem purchase costs, and the money spent on large computers like Big Frame needed to be calculated separately.

“I think we need to deduct 1.5 million dollars every month for the next year.”

“If we deduct that… does that mean we have about 1.4 million dollars left this month?”

“You could say that.”

JP Services caused a sensation, but due to the significant initial investment, it only started generating profit in October.

Sarah put the finalized ledger in the safe and asked.

“What are you going to do with the 1.4 million dollars?”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to the inside of the office. Sarah could tell what he was thinking just by his gaze.

“Are you going to distribute it to the employees?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded in response.

“They’ve worked hard together for half a year.”

The workload of Victoria Corporation employees was considerable. He was grateful to the employees who had followed him until the service stabilized.

“Are you going to divide the 1.4 million dollars equally?”

Jung Hyun-woo had already thought about it.

“Let’s give the installation technicians a bonus of 1,000 dollars each.”

If they gave 1,000 dollars each to 1,100 people, that would be 1.1 million dollars.

“Hmm, that only leaves 300,000 dollars?”

There were approximately 20 employees at Victoria Corporation headquarters, plus the employees at the New York office led by John River.

“Even if you combine the headquarters employees with the New York office, it’s only around thirty people, so giving them 10,000 dollars each would empty the account.”

“10,000 dollars is a bit much.”

The average annual salary for American workers in 1983 was between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars. 10,000 dollars was almost half the average annual salary.

‘Unless it’s a large corporation with significant profits? This side isn’t quite there yet.’

He held up five fingers and said.

“Let’s do 5,000 dollars each.”

“5,000 dollars each?”

“Yes.”

“That leaves 150,000 dollars. What are you going to use the remaining money for?”

Jung Hyun-woo pondered for a moment before answering.

“How about giving Robert 100,000 dollars, and an extra 10,000 dollars to each team leader?”

Robert was the most outstanding executive in this project. Without him, JP Services would have been aborted before it even started.

Sarah also acknowledged that his contribution was the greatest.

“Robert deserves the 100,000 dollars. But if you distribute it like that, there’s nothing left for Charlie.”

“There’s nothing for Sarah either.”

He meant that the two representatives didn’t need a bonus.

Sarah chuckled.

“Well, the value of Victoria Corporation has increased with the success of this project, so it would be greedy to expect a performance bonus.”

The success of JP Services greatly increased the value of Victoria Corporation. This meant that the assets of the two had greatly increased.

Jung Hyun-woo finished organizing the performance bonuses and licked his lips.

‘If there was more profit left, I would have splurged, but it’s a shame.’

JP Services and Victoria Corporation were like babies just starting to walk. They needed a little more time to walk and run properly.

***

It was just before Thanksgiving when Robert returned to Boston after touring the game shops in the West.

Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah were still coming to work every day without a holiday.

“Charlie, Sarah, how have you been?”

His face was tanned.

“Oh! Robert, it’s been a while?”

Robert hugged Sarah and then shook hands with Jung Hyun-woo.

“Robert, thank you for your hard work.”

“Don’t mention it. Charlie, isn’t this my job?”

Robert was still cheerful.

“So, how is the West?”

“It’s more difficult than the East.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his voice at his answer.

“Are you saying that the West, with Silicon Valley, is in worse condition than the East?”

He thought that the West had better computer penetration and IT infrastructure than the East. But the reality was apparently different.

“The area around San Francisco is fine, but it’s often difficult because customers are scattered in the desert.”

Especially in states like Arizona and Utah, the population density was low. In such cases, they sometimes had to drive for two hours to install a single modem.

“Ah… that must be difficult.”

Robert succeeded in transforming the game shops in each region into AS [After Service] and installation centers as Jung Hyun-woo intended. This alone meant he had done his 100% share.

“Well, let’s go inside.”

Sarah, Robert, and Jung Hyun-woo moved to the president’s office.

“Robert, let me say again, thank you for your hard work.”

Jung Hyun-woo repeatedly expressed his gratitude for Robert’s efforts.

Sarah took out an envelope instead of a greeting.

“Robert, this is this month’s bonus.”

Robert lightly shrugged his shoulders and accepted the envelope.

“Since the president is giving it to me, I won’t refuse.”

He was receiving a considerable salary, but he had been feeling a bit resentful about not having a bonus in addition to overtime pay.

‘The bonus comes just when I’m feeling a bit resentful.’

He thought Sarah’s timing was not bad.

“Hmm?”

His hand, which was examining the inside of the envelope, stopped. He checked the inside again and turned to Sarah.

“Ms. Hilton, this is…”

Sarah raised her right hand and pointed to Jung Hyun-woo.

“It’s Charlie’s idea, not mine.”

Robert put down the envelope and said.

“Mr. Jung, this is too much.”

Inside was a 100,000 dollar check.

Exactly half of Robert’s annual salary.

Jung Hyun-woo said calmly.

“Considering what Robert has done so far, I don’t think it’s that much money.”

Robert sighed deeply.

“Hoo, it’s true that I’ve been working hard. But isn’t it all Mr. Jung’s idea?”

He called Jung Hyun-woo Mr. Jung, not Charlie, when he wanted to emphasize the official aspect.

“Robert, if you can’t put it into action even if you think about it, it’s just a fantasy.”

There were two people who made what Jung Hyun-woo thought a reality: Robert and Sarah. He added.

“I will increase your annual salary even more next year.”

“Even the annual salary?”

Sarah replied in a soft voice.

“Robert is the general manager of Victoria Corporation.”

Robert’s official title was COO (Chief Operating Officer). In general companies, the vice president, and in large corporations, the group vice chairman usually held the COO position.

In the case of Victoria Corporation, Sarah was the COO until Robert was recruited. She stepped down as COO when Robert was recruited, and took on the role of CFO [Chief Financial Officer], responsible for finance and fund management.

“If Victoria Corporation goes public, there will definitely be stock options.”

Robert looked around, seemingly confused by the carrots being thrown at him.

“Charlie, is this a hidden camera?”

Jung Hyun-woo coughed lightly and said.

“Hmm, hmm. Robert, it’s not all good news.”

Robert erased his smile at his words.

“If it’s not all good news, that means there’s bad news too.”

Jung Hyun-woo lowered his voice and nodded.

“That’s right.”

Victoria Corporation was moving non-stop.

It wouldn’t be strange if some bad news came out.

‘Since they’re raising my salary, it’s not a dismissal, is it a change in position?’

Sarah could return to the COO position.

However, the story Jung Hyun-woo brought up was not related to personnel matters.

“Robert, there will be a deal with IBM soon.”

Robert raised his eyebrows at Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“That IBM?”

“That’s right.”

Robert thought the opponent was too big.

‘If you only think about the size of the company, JP Morgan is much bigger, but this side was in the securities business, not the main business of finance, and even that was online live service.’

However, the situation was different with IBM. Any deal would overlap with the main business, so it was bound to be a big deal.

Sarah intervened between the two.

“IBM contacted us first.”

The fact that IBM contacted them first meant that they had some leeway.

“They contacted you first?”

“That’s right. They suggested bundling JP Services with IBM’s new product.”

Robert asked again.

“Has the story been told to JP Morgan?”

Sarah nodded and replied.

“JP Securities said that JP Services can only be subscribed to by JP Morgan customers, so there’s no reason to object.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

JP Services itself was a service to increase JP Securities’ customers. If IBM’s new product increased JP Morgan’s customers even a little, they would have no reason to object.

“Charlie, then what’s the problem?”

Jung Hyun-woo had clearly said it wasn’t good news.

“The problem is IBM’s attitude.”

“IBM’s attitude?”

“We don’t want to become like Gary Kildall [an early microcomputer pioneer who lost out to Microsoft due to a missed opportunity].”

Robert nodded as if he understood what he meant.

“You’re saying you need someone who can laugh off IBM’s overbearing attitude.”

Sarah added.

“I’ve talked to them to some extent, but IBM is IBM.”

IBM’s excessive abuse of power and persistent demands were already widely known in the IT industry.

Robert also knew the details well. But he received her words with a bright face as if there was no problem.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of IBM too.”

Jung Hyun-woo asked with a dark face.

“Are you really okay?”

“It’s okay. I have experience dealing with Atari.”

It had become a fallen empire now, but Atari’s abuse of power was also beyond imagination. Robert thought that even if IBM’s abuse of power was severe, it wouldn’t be as bad as Atari, which abused even the developers.

‘Even if IBM’s abuse of power is worse than Atari, I can endure it to some extent.’

He was someone who could write his name with his butt at IBM if they asked him to.

“Charlie, can I tell my story now?”

Robert’s counter-proposal.

Jung Hyun-woo calmly received his question.

“Robert, if you have something to say, say it.”

Robert nodded and then talked about a new business he had devised.

“I thought about it after touring both the West and the East. This business is…”

His story about the new business continued for about 10 minutes.

Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah listened to his story quietly. Soon, his story ended. Jung Hyun-woo turned his head to Sarah.

“Sarah, what do you think?”

Sarah was the chief financial officer. If her permission was not granted, the business could not proceed even if Jung Hyun-woo and Robert’s intentions were the same.

“Hmm, I don’t think it’s a bad story. But we don’t have the financial capacity right now.”

Victoria Corporation was already struggling with the construction of JP Services. She didn’t think it was the time to start a new business.

“What if we exclude the funds invested in Japan?”

The investment in Japan was something Robert didn’t know about. He raised his eyebrows and asked.

“Charlie, did you invest in Japan?”

“I invested a little.”

Sarah thought for a moment and then answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“Charlie, I don’t think it’s a good idea to recover the funds invested in the Magellan Fund [a well-known investment fund] and start a new business, unless we reinvest the profits from JP Services.”

She was against taking out the funds invested in the Magellan Fund.

‘Starting a new business is something we have to do someday, but not now.’

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Robert.

“Robert, she says it’s not the right time.”

Robert listened to the two stories and then nodded slowly.

“I understand. This business is definitely not easy. But if it’s too late, we’ll lose the opportunity. I hope you understand this.”

The new business he proposed to Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah was to acquire game shops scattered throughout the United States and use them as forward bases for Victoria Corporation.

This was not about borrowing or seeking cooperation from some of the game shops like JP Services, but about buying and operating the game shops themselves.

Jung Hyun-woo already knew about a business similar to what he proposed.

‘Buy game shops and operate them nationwide. Hmm… the closest thing would be GameStop?’

GameStop was a comprehensive offline game shop that started in Texas and had the nickname of Walmart in the game industry.

GameStop sold new games as well as used games in large quantities, so there was an advantage that you could get outdated games cheaply. Based on the advantages of these offline shops, GameStop was able to withstand even the 2020s, when online shops were 활성화 [active/widespread].

‘Since GameStop was successful, his idea can be said to be a business with some success guaranteed.’

Of course, dragging offline shops like GameStop until after 2020 was a dangerous thing. He thought it was better to dispose of offline shops by 2010, regardless of profit.

‘Still, in 1983, it’s a business worth investing in.’

Jung Hyun-woo crossed his arms and said.

“Robert, let’s think about that again next year.”

Robert had to be satisfied with the review, not the business confirmation.

“I understand.”

He thought the project should be carried out at least by 1985.

‘If it’s too late, the game shops will go bankrupt, and other shops will fill their place.’

It was much cheaper to use existing stores than to open new stores.

‘If we’re going to open new shops, it might be better not to start at all.’

He was on the side that it was better not to start a business that was not profitable at all. It was when he was about to get up from his seat.

Jung Hyun-woo asked as if throwing it.

“Robert, how is Activision?”

He had instructed Robert to secure Activision’s IP [Intellectual Property].

Robert sat back down as if he hadn’t reported it yet and replied.

“First of all, we presented Activision with the list we wanted.”

It was a disappointing answer for Jung Hyun-woo.

“But you’re saying there’s no answer yet?”

Robert nodded and replied briefly.

“That’s right.”

“That’s strange. Activision must be in a hurry for money.”

“Then, I’ll contact you again tomorrow.”

“Robert, securing IP is important.”

Jung Hyun-woo had no intention of giving up Activision’s game IP.

‘Securing Activision’s game IP is more important than pioneering a new business.’

He wanted to secure Activision’s game IP at all costs.

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