God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 183

As I abruptly opened the door and entered, I could already sense the bustle inside. People who were moving busily stopped and glanced at me cautiously as I walked in.

I moved as quickly as possible. On the way, I casually spoke to Jo I-ruk.

"Team Leader Jo, please come to my office."

"Yes, ma’am."

Jo I-ruk followed behind me as if he had anticipated this. As we entered the CEO's office together, Jo I-ruk lowered the blinds as if it were a matter of course.

As I took off my coat and hung it on the chair, I asked first.

"Where did the email content originate from?"

"It came through the official email account. So..."

Jo I-ruk trailed off, but I understood what he was trying to say.

"Essentially, everyone from the lowest ranks up has seen it."

"Yes, that's correct."

"This is troublesome. I wonder if they knew what they were doing."

Of course they knew when they sent it. The obvious scheming behind it made me even more irritated. I let out a deep sigh, then asked this first.

"Let me see the full email first."

"Yes, I've prepared it."

Jo I-ruk smoothly handed over a document file. As I flipped open the first page, I saw a polite greeting followed by a not-so-polite proposal.

[ From: Hwang Tae-in (Director of M&A, Hyeonmu Corporation)

To: The Song

Email: [email protected]

Subject: Discussion on Strategic Partnership and Acquisition Proposal with The Song

Dear CEO Song Woo-yeon,

Hello, CEO Song. I am Hwang Tae-in, in charge of M&A at Hyeonmu Corporation.

First, I sincerely applaud The Song's outstanding performance and the achievements made through your personal passion and dedication, CEO Song. Through the recent cooking program you appeared on, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of The Song brand's value and philosophy, and I was greatly impressed by the innovative and creative future of the food industry that The Song is leading.

...(omitted)...

Hyeonmu has grown with various brands in the food industry over many years, and we believe that we can create even greater value through collaboration with innovative companies like The Song, based on the infrastructure and know-how we have built. Therefore, we would like to propose an acquisition that can promote mutual growth through a strategic partnership between The Song and Hyeonmu.

This acquisition proposal holds more meaning than a simple investment. We propose a cooperation model that supports expansion into broader markets and brand extension by combining the strengths of both companies. Through this, we hope to become partners who change the landscape of the food industry by combining The Song's originality with Hyeonmu's resources.

...(omitted)...

If you are interested in this proposal, CEO Song, I would like to meet you in person for a more in-depth discussion. Please let us know a time and place that is convenient for you, and we will prepare accordingly.

We sincerely look forward to the opportunity to work with The Song and await your positive response.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Hwang Tae-in

Director of M&A, Hyeonmu Corporation

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 010-XXXX-XXXX ]

The content was long, but to summarize briefly:

"It's an acquisition proposal."

"Yes, that's correct."

Hyeonmu had expressed their intention to acquire <The Song>.

I tried to suppress the reflexive aversion I felt just seeing the name 'Hyeonmu' and attempted to think calmly.

'It's not an unreasonable proposal.'

Currently, <The Song> was acting as a game-changer in the food industry. The successive successes of franchise brands were garnering public attention, and Song Woo-yeon's personal brand value was also increasing.

It's an acquisition target that any major corporation would covet. Such a proposal itself wasn't particularly surprising.

However, the reason why the company was turned upside down by this single 'acquisition email' was right here.

"Didn't we already reject this before?"

"Yes, that's correct."

The problem was that this was the second acquisition proposal.

'Haah...'

I suppressed a sigh welling up inside me.

In my previous life, I hadn't received an acquisition offer. A collaboration proposal, perhaps, but not this.

It seems that <The Song> in my previous life wasn't appetizing enough to acquire. The previous <The Song> had gone through various successes and failures, and held quite different franchise brands compared to now.

Unlike the current <The Song>, which has grown into a substantial new company by fully utilizing proven winning strategies, the previous <The Song> was a mid-sized company with a mix of tasty and not-so-tasty brands.

'Rather than acquiring, they probably just wanted to cherry-pick the core technologies and brands.'

That's actually what happened. Even thinking about it now, I could only manage a bitter smile.

In any case.

The current <The Song> seemed to be an attractive acquisition from head to toe, enough to make them want to chew and swallow it whole.

Which means...

"What do you plan to do? If we reject the acquisition proposal twice, they might openly retaliate."

It also meant we were a threatening competitor. And Hyeonmu didn't hesitate to crush such opponents.

'Once might be understandable, but twice becomes quite blatant.'

Did we stand out too much? Even so, I didn't expect Hyeonmu to take direct action.

"This is troublesome."

Considering that <The Song> in my previous life only faced opposition from Hyeonmu in the distant future, this was a remarkably swift response.

'Perhaps...'

I looked beyond the blinds. I thought I could faintly see Hyun Ye-won's silhouette.

'No. Let's not think unnecessary thoughts.'

Either way, it didn't matter much. What's important now is not 'why', but how to respond going forward.

"The lifeblood of the food industry is ultimately distribution. What level of damage do you anticipate?"

"If Hyeonmu fully engages, we expect significant disruptions in terms of the supply chain."

<The Song> has a history of overcoming vegetable price hikes through long-term contracts, but as time passed and the scale and size grew, we were now dealing with various other companies as well.

'I knew something like this would happen eventually. I tried to choose places as much as possible where Hyeonmu's influence wouldn't reach, but...'

Hyeonmu was a major player looming over the entire food industry. It would be fair to say that there was virtually no place completely free from their influence.

I briefly outlined the expected scenario.

"Hyeonmu will identify our suppliers and tempt them with more money to sign exclusive contracts."

"...!"

"Hyeonmu is large and a stable business partner. Almost no one would refuse. It would be difficult for us to offer more favorable price conditions than Hyeonmu."

That's the nature of economies of scale. Looking at Jo I-ruk's surprised face, I continued.

"If that happens, it will become difficult to supply ingredients to franchisees, and they will have to urgently source ingredients from retailers. Naturally, this will be more labor-intensive and reduce profit margins."

"That's..."

"This is especially fatal for franchises like ours that advocate high-volume, low-margin sales. If costs rise even slightly, we might incur losses even when we sell."

I pressed my fingers against my brow, feeling a headache coming on.

"Of course, this will lower both customer satisfaction and franchisee satisfaction. With Hyeonmu openly interfering, everyone will be reluctant to deal with us to avoid falling out of favor with them. The situation will only worsen."

"......"

"Of course, this is just the worst-case scenario."

I smirked and shrugged my shoulders.

"Hyeonmu is big, right? And with size comes more eyes watching. Unless it's absolutely necessary, they won't act this blatantly."

"I see."

"I'm not sure how much effort they'll put into acquiring <The Song>, but realistically speaking, <The Song> probably isn't appetizing enough prey for Hyeonmu to exert all its strength yet."

That was the silver lining.

"Is... that so?"

"We need to assess the atmosphere. Please arrange a negotiation table with Hyeonmu. Since they've expressed interest in discussing, they won't refuse a meeting."

"Yes, understood."

Once we meet, we'll be able to gauge how closely this 'Director Hwang Tae-in' is eyeing The Song.

That was the most crucial point.

'Director Hwang Tae-in, is this your personal judgment? Or...'

The shadowy figure of a man flickered in my mind. There was a face that came clearly to mind even with my eyes closed.

'...Hyun Jung-hu. Is this your order?'

The outcome would vary drastically depending on which of the two it was.

But <The Song> is still too small to catch a big fish like Hyun Jung-hu. It's more likely to be Director Hwang Tae-in's opinion.

"We should keep the worst-case scenario in mind. Please diversify our supply chain as much as possible, and work on building a reputation as a trustworthy business partner. Oh, and it would be good to prepare a list of potential alternative suppliers in advance."

"Yes, I'll prepare that right away."

Jo I-ruk bowed promptly and headed out.

Click.

As the door closed, the room was filled with silence. Only then did I let out a deep sigh.

I might be overreacting because of the name 'Hyeonmu'. This could just be a probing proposal randomly sent to a somewhat successful small to medium-sized enterprise.

'I feel uneasy. It's like there's a fog in my head.'

Calm down.

I barely managed to suppress my heightened senses and muttered to myself.

It's okay. It will be fine. Hyun Jung-hu probably doesn't even know my name or face yet...

I unclenched my fist and raised the blinds again.

Click.

With a short noise, I saw the office scene where the commotion was settling down. Jo I-ruk and Roh Se-hee seemed to be cautioning the bustling employees.

Among them, I spotted Hyun Ye-won, looking as if she was sitting on pins and needles.

"......"

Hyun Ye-won rolled her eyes around as if she had committed a crime. Then, her gaze briefly met mine as she glanced this way.

The face that always greeted me with a soft eye smile was stiff today.

Nod.

With a single hand gesture, I summoned Hyun Ye-won to the CEO's office.

I could intuitively sense it.

That Hyun Ye-won knew something about this situation.