84: Chapter 84 Sales Breakthrough

On the first Monday of June, the temperature in Seoul suddenly shot up to twenty-eight degrees. Inside the meeting room at the Shunyi Foods headquarters, the air conditioning was set very low, yet Lee Jung-hoon was still breaking out in a sweat—not from the heat, but from excitement. He stood before the projection screen, flipping to the page for May's sales data, his hands trembling slightly.

"Chairman, the low-calorie fire noodles sold 1.2 million packs in May, a month-on-month increase of fifty percent. Convenience store channels grew by sixty-five percent. Consumer feedback indicates that the celebrity endorsements were effective, and the open-day tours also played a role."

Chairman Wang Shunyi sat at the head of the table, with the report spread out before him; several circles were marked in red pen next to the figures. Having finished reading, he pushed the report aside and looked up at Lee Jung-hoon. "What about the instant bibimbap?"

Lee Jung-hoon hurriedly flipped the page.

"780,000 boxes, up fifty-six percent from April. The beef and kimchi flavors are selling the best, accounting for over half of the total sales. The 'buy two get one free' promotion attracted many new customers. While the data for the repurchase rate isn't out yet, the sales curve suggests these aren't people who just buy once and leave."

"And the rice wine series?"

"450,000 cans, a month-on-month increase of fifty percent. The original flavor is the most popular, followed closely by strawberry and peach. Among customers buying rice wine, sixty-eight percent are female, between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five. This customer group highly overlaps with VIVID's fan profile."

Lee Jung-hoon paused here and looked at Chairman Wang Shunyi, hoping to find some expression of approval on his face.

But there was nothing.

Chairman Wang Shunyi expressionlessly opened the profit margin report handed over by CFO Park Jeong-ho, flipping through it page by page at a steady pace, as if inspecting a contract he didn't quite trust.

Park Jeong-ho explained from the side, his speaking speed a notch faster than usual. "Chairman, the gross margin in May recovered to thirty-two percent, three points higher than in April. The net margin was eight point five percent, up zero point five points." He circled several key figures and pushed them toward Chairman Wang Shunyi.

Chairman Wang Shunyi glanced at those numbers. "What about marketing costs?"

"They are still high. However, as sales volume grows, the unit marketing cost is decreasing. The celebrity endorsement fees were a one-time investment; the amortization in the coming months will get lower and lower. In June, the net margin is expected to break ten percent."

Chairman Wang Shunyi closed the report, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. "Nongshim and CJ won't just watch us grow. Next month, they're releasing a new instant bibimbap, priced twenty percent lower than ours."

Sales Director Park Jae-beom was quick to respond. "Chairman, I have already obtained their samples. The packaging is similar, and the flavor has been slightly adjusted with some added spiciness. It's priced at 4,000 won, which is 1,500 won cheaper than ours. Their distribution efforts are intense, with a first-month goal of getting into 10,000 stores nationwide."

"And our response?"

"No price cuts. We strike back with new products." R&D Director Kim Tae-ho leaned forward from his seat, as if to give his voice more weight.

"Next month, the low-sodium and high-protein versions of our instant bibimbap will be ready for the market. The low-sodium version has half the sodium of the regular version, and the high-protein version contains thirty grams of protein per serving. These are products currently unavailable on the market; even if Nongshim wants to follow suit, they won't be able to do it that quickly. Their R&D cycle would take at least half a year."

Chairman Wang Shunyi thought for a moment and then asked him how much higher the costs for the two new products were compared to the regular version. Kim Tae-ho said the low-sodium version was eight percent higher, and the high-protein version was fifteen percent higher.

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded.

"Set the price ten to twenty percent higher than the regular version. If it needs to be expensive, let it be; consumers won't miss those few hundred won."

Lee Jung-hoon was looking down, taking notes in his notebook, when his phone lit up under the conference table. He glanced down and hung up. It lit up again; he glanced at Chairman Wang Shunyi and whispered that it was a call from Kim Young-jun regarding VIVID.

Chairman Wang Shunyi told him to take it. Kim Young-jun's voice was so loud that everyone in the meeting room could hear it—"Chairman! VIVID's debut album sales have exceeded 100,000 copies! They're third on Music Bank and second on Inkigayo! SM suggests releasing a second mini-album in the second half of the year!" Lee Jung-hoon almost started clapping, but he suppressed his hands halfway when he caught Chairman Wang Shunyi's gaze.

"Understood. What is the album concept?"

Kim Young-jun hesitated for a second on the other end. "Vibrant girls. A youthful and energetic style that fits well with Sunyi's brand image."

"Have them send over the planning proposal. I'll decide after I've seen it."

After hanging up, Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at the people present, his gaze level. "VIVID's endorsement ads have only been airing for half a month, and the effects are already visible. Sales of low-calorie fire noodles and instant bibimbap have risen by fifty percent. We must sustain this momentum. For the new products in the second half of the year, print VIVID's photos on the packaging. Update the TV commercials as well, using the versions they filmed."

At 6:30 PM, Chairman Wang Shunyi pushed open the restaurant door. Park Min-ji had already arrived and was sitting in a window seat with a half-finished glass of barley tea in front of her. She was wearing a light gray thin knit sweater, her hair was down, and she was leaning her elbows on the table while scrolling through her phone. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, smiled, and placed her phone face down on the table.

"You're late."

"The meeting dragged on. Sales are growing so fast that every department is coming to me for resources." He sat down opposite her. The waiter offered a menu, but he didn't take it, letting her order. Park Min-ji didn't take it either and simply recited the dishes—a Hanwoo set for two, no offal. Chairman Wang Shunyi added a kimchi stew, saying his stomach felt uncomfortable at night without soup. Park Min-ji hadn't driven, so she shared a glass of soju with him.

"Min-ji, where do you think Shunyi Foods should go in the next five years?"

"Why the sudden question?"

"At the meeting today, I was talking about new products, endorsements, and channels for the second half of the year. Those are all short-term matters."

"You've been fighting a war for over a year now. From the Kims to Nongshim, to VIVID, to the low-calorie line, to the open day—it's been one thing after another. When have you ever sat down to think about five years from now?"

She picked up a piece of pickled radish and chewed it slowly. After swallowing, she put down her chopsticks; his expression told her he was serious, not just asking casually.

"Five directions."

She held up her fingers.

"The first: overseas markets can't just rely on Southeast Asia; we must enter Japan and China. Nissin is too strong in Japan, but there's a gap in high-end noodles. The second is that the product line needs to expand; we can't just make instant noodles—snacks, instant soups, and frozen foods all need to be part of the layout. The third is brand rejuvenation; VIVID is just the beginning, and in the future, we can collaborate with more entertainment, fashion, and cultural IPs. The fourth is to build our own channels; convenience stores and hypermarkets are other people's territory, so we need to set up our own official website, app, and membership system to keep the data in our own hands. The fifth is capital operations; acquire what needs to be acquired, and go public when the time is right."

The soju was finished, though her glass was still more than half full; he didn't refill it for her.

Chairman Wang Shunyi asked the waiter for the bill. She picked up her bag and, as they reached the door, suddenly stopped to look at a VIVID poster in the convenience store across the street. Kim Ye-rin was smiling with a bowl of low-calorie fire noodles in front of her.

Park Min-ji watched for a while and remarked that she danced quite well on the music shows.

"You know her?"

"The office TV plays it every day; I've become familiar with her even if I didn't want to."

Talking as they went, they nearly reached the parking lot, but his car wasn't parked in that direction.

The car stopped downstairs at Park Min-ji's apartment. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, he told her to go back and write a first draft for the five-year plan. He asked when she wanted it, and she said there was no rush, before the end of the month would be fine.

She pushed open the car door and got out. At the entrance of the building, she looked back at him and gave a wave. He honked the horn once. The lights in the hallway lit up to the third floor and then went out.

He sat in the car and didn't leave immediately. In the rearview mirror, the lights of Namsan Tower were flashing. He watched for a while before starting the car. The sales figures from May were still spinning in his head, as were VIVID's album sales. 1.2 million packs of fire chicken noodles and 100,000 albums—two unrelated numbers were intertwined in his mind, yet he kept them clearly sorted.

The profit for each pack of low-calorie fire noodles was calculated at over 300 won, totaling tens of millions. SM Entertainment took the lion's share of the 100,000 album sales, and Sunyi didn't get much. But with VIVID's faces printed on the packaging, that value was immeasurable. Kim Ye-rin smiling on TV was more effective than a thirty-second advertisement broadcast by a TV station.

He rubbed his temples and loosened his tie as the car drove onto Gangbyeonbuk-ro. The Han River was dark in the night, and the lights from the bridge reflected in the water, shattered by the wind like a spilled tray of pearls.