Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 10: Competitor 2

By Ruprecht's sign, manager Cameron Eichen said with passion, "Gentlemen, Gottfried has entered the supermarket business at the start of the year, and has now gained great success in Vienna. In just over three months since opening, it has started from zero and has achieved the number one status in the business..."

"Excuse me for asking you to stop Mr. Cameron. If you're talking about being number one in the business in terms of losses, I don't think that's worth it at all!" Jakobus Helder cut Cameron in a nice, polite way.

Jakobus Helder is Ruprecht's uncle, the second-largest shareholder of the company. He is the former director of the company's human resources, who founded Gottfried Department Store with Ruprecht Sr. and had a great influence on the firm and is now retired.

Ruprecht's face paled. Jakobus, who had retired, came out, clearly quite upset with him already.

"Mr. Jakobus, the loss is just to capture the moment. When we drive all the players out of the market, that's when we will reap the fruits!" said Cameron in his defense.

"So, you tell us, Mr. Cameron. How long will it take to get rid of all the players?" said Zamar Helder (Ruprecht's brother) with a cynical smile.

When Cameron fell silent, Zamar continued, "Be aware that our losses are growing every day. Gottfried is a big business, but don't forget that our roots are in a department store, not a supermarket! We can't put all of our resources into this endless pit!"

When Ruprecht saw that Cameron had been defeated, he knew it was time for him to step up. After a moment of pondering, he said, "Well, we''ve come to this point now... and the bullshit is no longer done!"

"Our Gottfried has spent too much on the supermarket, it' s a whole eighty thousand pounds! Gentlemen, do you think we can still drop out now?"

"What? Eighty thousand pounds? Are you sure you're not wrong!" Zamar jumped up at once and asked Ruprecht. The sourc𝗲 of this content nov(𝒆l)bi((n))

"My brother, the information was sent to all shareholders yesterday. Don't tell me you didn't get it!" Ruprecht said angrily.

For this playboy's own brother, Ruprecht never had much patience. In his heart, he cursed: "Damn, at this hour, you idiot is still causing me mess. I don't know what's going on. Even if they are all from the Helder family, how come they have such an idiot!"

Zamar gave an awkward smile, and then he finished his part. It was clear that he was still a little afraid of his older brother.

Jakobus thought about it and came out as a mediator, saying, "Well, we have come to this point, so let's find a way to get along with each other! The company has already spent eighty thousand pounds, which is already one tenth of Gottfried's assets. We are already in a hard position to overcome problems."

When there was a short wait, and no one spoke, Jakobus asked, "Ruprecht, I'm afraid the company's cash flow is about to go out of balance now, what's your plan?"

"The company has also made a lot of money over the years, and everyone's annual dividends are not small. I hope that all shareholders to give the company a sum of capital to change things around, in principle, based on the ratio of capital!" Ruprecht said in response without panic.

The room burst into instant chatter, with some in favor and others against it.

"What's the exact number of the gap for the company to get through the crisis?" Jakobus asked with concern.

The people all turned their eyes toward Ruprecht with great hope. They looked like they were ready to pay up if the margin was not too big.

"I asked people to report on the company's accounts. There is a shortage of funds. It is two hundred thousand pounds, or five years of dividends for everyone!" Ruprecht said solemnly.

The people's faces paled as the figure was too big. Even if it was divided by shares, it was not a small number. On the assets, they surely have. But who has that much capital, they have either spent it or invested in the business.

"How can it be so much? The supermarket has only put in eighty thousand pounds into the project!" Zamar asked with a pale face.

"Quite simply. Our department stores have also been hit, and we have a lot of items that overlap with the supermarkets that has affected our profits. It is crucial that the supermarket project still needs to continue to invest. This figure is only the ideal state, and more money may be needed later!" Ruprecht gave a little reason.

"We can pay the money, but what is your final goal?" Jakobus asked as he stared closely at Ruprecht in a discreet manner.

Ruprecht knew that as long as he got Jakobus convinced, it would be a great end to the day, and no one else would be enough to worry about as they both had more than two-thirds of the shares taken up.

"Clean up that bunch of small fish. Let Gottfried Department Store and Volvo stand on their own feet!" Ruprecht said with caution.

"Well, that's good. This goal is a bit hard to achieve, but it's still a little realistic!" Jakobus shows a long-lost smile.

To be frank, Ruprecht is the most capable one in the next generation of the Helder family. Jakobus has always thought highly of this nephew.

At the same time, he is also worried about Ruprecht's pride. The Helder family, at the same time, just a latecomer in the capital area. It's not that strong, and Austria-Hungary is still the world of the aristocracy.

Ruprecht, this time plays a price war with no other means. It is not how high his ethics, but he simply does not dare to break the rules.

When facing the Kohry family, they would not have chosen this time to enter if they did not have the support of the Hungarian flour capitalists behind them.

"By the way, Ruprecht ~ what about those Hungarians? Now it's time for them to give their support!" Jakobus went straight to its core.

"I have spoken with them. It''s not ideal except for what has been agreed before. We were given a loan of two hundred thousand pounds. Besides the flour which can be purchased at an affordable cost, they do not intend to give any help in." Ruprecht said bitterly.

Two hundred thousand pounds is indeed a lot of money, but it was a loan, and it was still under a mortgage. They didn't get the benefits they expected, except that the flour they could buy at an affordable cost.

"It was expected, wasn't it! They are not likely to make a big effort for us. You have to quickly put these terms in place. If Ferdinand comes to react, it is likely that we will not be able to get these, and then it is not so easy to get a loan!" Jakobus gave a serious note.

Ruprecht said bitterly, "Okay uncle, I'll do it right away!"

It s obvious that this time, it hit him hard. The power of the old aristocracy is beyond his vision. After Ferdinand had only slightly shown a little goodwill, the flour capitalists backed off.

"Ruprecht is in the pit. What are you going to do next, Franz?" Ferdinand asked, looking at Franz in forethought.

"Your Highness, why don't we let them sink deeper before we act! As for now, I'm going to purge the market first, like drop the prices by another 5 points. In less than two months, half of the supermarkets in Vienna will be dead!" said Franz with a wicked smile.

Ferdinand also smiles along. Don't look at the supermarkets in Vienna that are losing money, but the Shuanghui Food Group is making a profit. While the retail price has fallen and sales have increased, the factory price has not changed.