64: Chapter 64 The Expedition (Part 2)

During Zhang Junhao's first three months in Singapore, he lost eight kilograms. It wasn't because of exhaustion, but because he couldn't get used to the food. He told Chairman Wang Shunyi over the phone that while the Hainanese chicken rice there was delicious, eating it every day became tiresome. He craved kimchi, but the vacuum-packed kind sold in supermarkets didn't taste right—it was neither spicy nor sour enough. Chairman Wang Shunyi told him to have Kim Tae-min ship two boxes from the company. Zhang Junhao replied that he had tried, but it took half a month by sea; by the time it arrived, it was completely fermented and inedible.

"Then why don't you just come back and eat?"

"I'm not coming back." Zhang Junhao let out a chuckle on the other end of the line. "President, things here have just started; I can't leave."

The Southeast Asia regional headquarters was located in an office building in Downtown Singapore, occupying half a floor. It had space for about twenty people, but currently, only five seats were filled. Zhang Junhao arrived at seven every morning and left at nine at night, spending all the time in between pounding the pavement. He single-handedly covered sales, marketing, logistics, and customer service, and sometimes even acted as an interpreter—the Indonesian distributors couldn't speak English, so he would find a local translator for three-way calls, sometimes spending two hours without settling a single contract clause.

In mid-March, the Indonesian agent called to break the contract, citing a lack of profit. Zhang Junhao flew to Jakarta that afternoon and sat in the distributor's office until two in the morning. He pulled out the contract and flipped through it page by page, telling them, "Your gross margin is twenty-five percent, which isn't lower than Indomie. Why do you think you're not making money? Because your distribution volume isn't high enough." Eventually, the distributor was convinced; not only did they not break the contract, they signed for two additional regions. Zhang Junhao returned to Singapore from Jakarta at three in the morning, waited four hours at the airport, flew back, took a shower, and went straight to work.

After President Wang learned of this, he scolded him over the phone: "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"President, life is important, but the contract is more important."

"If a contract is lost, we can renegotiate. If you're gone, what is there to talk about?"

The other end of the line went quiet for a few seconds. "Understood. I'll be careful from now on."

In April, Shunyi Foods' China strategy officially launched. Chairman Wang Shunyi called Kim Soo-jin into his office and drew a map of China on the whiteboard, marking five red dots—Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu.

"Soo-jin, you go to Shanghai. You're familiar with the Korean expat circles there. Start by stocking high-end supermarkets like City Super and Ole'. Then find some local distributors and focus on promoting the fire chicken noodles and the plant-based series." He drew a red line under Shanghai. "Within half a year, our products must be on the shelves of the Shanghai market."

Since being headhunted from Samsung, Kim Soo-jin had worked for over half a year, winning every battle brilliantly. From Sunyi Selection to the functional series to the double truffle noodles, she had pushed market performance to historic highs. However, the tactics for the Chinese market were different from Korea. She had been in charge of China operations at Samsung and spoke a little Chinese, though not much, but her logic was sound—China's middle class was rising, and they were willing to pay a high price for good quality.

She took two people with her to Shanghai and stayed at a hotel near Hongqiao. In the first week, they visited sixteen supermarkets, covering almost every high-end supermarket in Shanghai. Upon her return, she sent a voice message to Chairman Wang Shunyi: "President, City Super says they can start with one product for trial sales, but it needs to be direct coordination with the Korean headquarters. The conditions at Ole' are also mostly negotiated; the entry fee is twice as expensive as in Singapore."

"Even if it's twice as expensive, we're going in. Ship the first batch of products by sea—don't use air freight, it's too expensive. fire chicken noodles, plant-based noodles, and double truffle noodles—those three. Change all the packaging to bilingual Chinese and English; no Korean. Chinese people don't recognize Korean, and if they see it, they'll think it's some generic brand."

In May, the first batch of goods for the Chinese market departed from Incheon Port, drifted at sea for five days, and arrived at Shanghai's Yangshan Port. Kim Soo-jin went to clear customs herself, spending an entire day at the customs office. When she came out, her face was pale. "President, the customs process in China is much more complex than in Korea. This batch has been cleared; we'll start distribution next week."

The first three thousand cases entered eight high-end supermarkets in Shanghai. Two thousand cases were sold in the first week, and the rest were gone by the second. Restock orders were sent directly to the factory, and Lee Jae-hoon added a night shift to the production schedule.

Chairman Wang Shunyi saw the sales report sent by Kim Soo-jin in his office. Without a word, he called Lee Chang-ho. "Chang-ho, research the taste preferences of the Chinese market some more. The fire chicken noodles and plant-based noodles are selling well, but the sales of double truffle noodles are lower than expected. Is it that the Chinese don't recognize truffles?"

Lee Chang-ho thought for a moment on the other end. "President, it's not that they don't recognize truffles, but they don't recognize 'truffles in noodles.' Their perception of truffles is Western cuisine, not instant noodles. How about we change it to a spicy-numbing flavor? Chinese people recognize 'Mala'."

"Is there enough time?"

"Give me three weeks."

Three weeks later, Shunyi China's Mala Flavor fire chicken noodles hit the market. Priced at thirty-five RMB—roughly sixty-five hundred Korean won—they were more expensive than the fire chicken noodles in Korea, but the people of Shanghai were buying. Kim Soo-jin saw a post on her social feed where a food blogger said, 'The Korean fire chicken noodles released a Mala version, oh my god, it's so delicious.' The comments below were all asking 'Where can I buy this?' She took a screenshot and sent it to Chairman Wang Shunyi with a line of text: 'President, it's a hit.'

At the July board meeting, Park Min-ji reported on the alliance's overall performance for the first half of the year. When the PPT reached the eleventh page, she paused and looked at Chairman Wang Shunyi. Receiving a nod of approval, she projected the figures onto the large screen—Shunyi plus Samyang plus Kims had a total revenue of seven hundred and twenty billion won, a year-on-year increase of thirty-one percent, with a market share of twenty-nine percent. Nongshim was at forty-eight percent, a gap of nineteen percentage points.

Choi Jae-won tapped the table with his finger. "President Wang, nineteen points. This time last year, it was twenty-two points. We've closed the gap by three points in a year. At this rate, it will take another six years to catch up. Six years is too long."

"Mr. Choi, the speed isn't constant. Last year, we established channels in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia; the sales cycle for these channels is half a year. In the second half of this year, sales will accelerate. By this time next year, the gap will narrow to within ten points. The year after that, we'll catch up."

"Are you certain?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't answer. He picked up the mineral water on the table, took a sip, set it down, and looked at Choi Jae-won. "Wait until the year after next and see."

After the meeting adjourned, Choi Jae-won patted Chairman Wang Shunyi's arm as he passed him. "It's good to be young; you've got drive." The old man walked away at a moderate pace, his leather shoes clicking on the floor with a sound that wasn't heavy but very solid.

In August, Park Jun-ho of Samyang Foods called. He said his father, Park Samyang, was willing to transfer an eight percent stake in Samyang Foods to Shunyi, on the condition that Samyang Foods retains independent management rights and Shunyi cannot lay off employees. "President Wang, my father said Samyang Foods is his life's work; he doesn't want to see it swallowed whole."

"We aren't swallowing Samyang. We are an alliance. An alliance isn't a merger. You transfer eight percent to me, and I'll transfer five percent to you—cross-shareholding to tie us together."

"And the price?"

"At market price. Eight thousand two hundred per share, which is three percent higher than the day before yesterday's closing price."

The other end went quiet for a few seconds. "Fine. I'll tell my father."

In early September, the cross-shareholding agreement was officially signed. The signing ceremony was held in a small meeting room at Samyang Foods' headquarters. Park Samyang attended in person, wearing a navy blue suit; his hair was entirely white, but his spirit was still good. His hand trembled slightly as he signed, but the strokes were still clear. After signing, he stood up, shook hands with Chairman Wang Shunyi, said "Good work," and left. Park Jun-ho saw him to the door and returned with slightly red eyes.

"President Wang, my dad has never been a man of many words. But he just told me that you chose the right person."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at Park Jun-ho. "It's not about choosing the right person, but choosing the right path. If the path is right, the person isn't as important. If the path is wrong, it doesn't matter how right the person is."

In mid-October, bad news came regarding Nongshim Foods' overseas strategy. Their expansion in the US market met with resistance; distributors were indifferent, and products weren't moving. Park Jung-chul lost his temper in an internal meeting, saying, "Americans don't understand Korean instant noodles; we need to increase advertising investment." However, marketing costs in the US were five times higher than in Korea. After three weeks of ads, the results were negligible.

When Zhang Junhao called from Singapore, his tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. "President, Nongshim hit a wall in the US. They stocked five hundred stores in Los Angeles and New York, but monthly sales are only two hundred million won—not even enough to cover the advertising fees."

"Don't laugh at them hitting a wall. The US market is hard to crack, and the Chinese market won't be much easier. Keep your eyes on Southeast Asia for me; don't get distracted."

"I'm on it."

In November, Shunyi Foods began preparations to enter the Japanese market. Chairman Wang Shunyi had Park Min-ji find several consultants familiar with the Japanese market and spent one hundred million won on a hundred-page market report. The report stated that the Japanese instant noodle market was highly mature, with Nissin dominating, making it extremely difficult for new brands to enter. However, there was a gap in a niche market—high-end bagged noodles. Prices ranged from three hundred to five hundred yen, but there were almost none at six or seven hundred yen. Shunyi's double truffle noodles were priced at two thousand won, roughly eight hundred and fifty yen, falling right into that gap.

Chairman Wang Shunyi read the report twice, picked up a sample of the double truffle noodles, and turned it over in his hands. "Every market has expensive things; the key is that your high price must be justified. Find distributors first; don't just charge in yourself."

December 20th, the year-end summary meeting. Park Min-ji adjusted the figures on the large screen—annual revenue of 1.5 trillion won, net profit of 100 billion won, and a market share of thirty-one percent, with the gap between them and Nongshim at sixteen percentage points. Over forty people sat in the meeting room, having arrived from Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Shanghai, filling the long table to capacity. Zhang Junhao had flown back from Singapore, tanned like a local Southeast Asian and wearing short sleeves, looking quite out of place among the suits.

Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up, walked to the front, and looked at those faces. He saw dark circles under Zhang Junhao's eyes, exhaustion on Kim Soo-jin's face, and composure on Park Min-ji's. He saw white hair on Lee Chang-ho; this man had aged five years in three. He saw confidence on Park Jun-ho's face; the man hadn't even had a moment to breathe since taking over Samyang from his father. He saw satisfaction on Choi Jae-won's face; the old man was in his seventies and still investing.

He spoke a very Korean sentence: "Everyone, for the past three years, you've worked hard." He bowed and then looked up. Some faces in the audience smiled, some eyes grew misty, and some were clapping.

"Next year, our goal is a forty percent market share. Nongshim at forty-five percent. A five-point difference. The year after that—this time the year after next—I want to stand here and say: We are number one."

Applause erupted, and he heard a whistle from Zhang Junhao. That man had gotten so dark in Singapore that his teeth looked unrealistically white when he smiled.

After the meeting, Chairman Wang Shunyi walked to the door; the snow had stopped. Park Min-ji stood beside him, holding her unfinished hot Americano.

"President, can we really reach forty percent next year?"

"We can. As long as Nongshim keeps spinning in circles, we can."

"What if they stop spinning?"

"Then we'll force them to spin." He looked at the gray Seoul sky. "Nongshim has been walking the same old path for fifty years; it's not something they can change just like that. Their factories use fifty-year-old equipment, their distributors have thirty-year-old contracts, and their minds are stuck with twenty-year-old concepts. We have no such baggage. That is our advantage."