Chapter 7: Christmas
It was a year of progress in 1881, and the citizens of Vienna ~ whose social life had become rich and colorful. Ferdinand, the brightest mind, also went farther and farther on the path of the shady businessman. All sorts of tricks kept people baffled.
Shuanghui Food Group has increased the number of products, such as a broad type of noodles, many brands of pastry, various flavors of French fries, etc.
The baker has also taken up his post formally in the supermarket. All kinds of pastries have made their debut, making it easier for the Viennese citizens who came along to see the goods.
Of course, it also filled Ferdinand's pockets. Volvo has spread to every major city in Austria-Hungary.
Shuanghui Food Group, of course, with the supermarket, from the bags company to become truer to its name. It has become the food industry in Austria-Hungary, with many large companies.
With Christmas just about to come, Volvo became even busier. Under Ferdinand's nudge, Franz, in a daze, made arrangements for the Christmas event.
Ferdinand can not relax. There are several supermarkets in Vienna now that are starting to remodel in a style that is mainly copied from Volvo.
It also has a sign of fresh ideas but has been ignored by Ferdinand naturally. Without knowing anything and going for creativity, they will make a perfect mess with all their own assets. It would never be a threat.
It is fair to imagine that in 1882 there would be a large number of supermarkets in Vienna. The era of Ferdinand's monopoly was coming to an end, and a hundred supermarkets were coming.
Ferdinand expects that the next three to five years will be the golden age for supermarkets, with competitors still figuring it out. It will shift to the silver stage in five to ten years, with competitors rising and profits begin to thin.
However, Volvo's leading status has been set, and it is hard for the upstarts to change in the short term. Ten years later, his own supporting industry is to be perfected. With a complete industrial chain, you can achieve maximum benefits.
When it comes to taking stock of the 1881 harvest, Volvo began the year on June 18 with the launch of thirty-six new stores one after another in nearly six months, which is slightly more than its plan.
It also gave Ferdinand a net profit of thirty thousand pounds, which he mainly spent on opening new stores. The profits of each supermarket, on average, are still kept at eight hundred pounds per month, which is quite shocking, and it is now Ferdinand's highest income.
Shuanghui Food Group also performs very well. After reforming the flour factory, thanks to the rapid expansion of sales outlets, the profit from the first three hundred pounds per month has grown to a thousand pounds per month now.
The newly built noodles factory had average sales. Although Ferdinand came up with many brands, the Europeans hadn't gotten used to using chopsticks. It was the pasta that sold well.
At first, there was a slight loss. Now, the monthly profit is only a hundred pounds or less, making Ferdinand very frustrated.
It is lucky that this is only a tiny factory of ten or so people. He did not blindly expand the scale, or it would not be possible to make a profit now.
The revenue of the snack factories is good, like popcorn, French fries, all kinds of cookies, etc., are selling well.
Since its launch, the snack factory already expands twice and now has more than eight hundred employees. It is second only to Volvo in terms of size in Ferdinand's industry. The monthly profit is now up to eight thousand pounds, and there is still plenty of margin for growth.
For the entire year 1881, Ferdinand built his business to the value of hundreds of thousands of pounds. But, he only adds less than 10,000 pounds of cash to his pocket.
When Christmas comes, there is a big Christmas tree standing in front of Volvo and a wide range of food products set up in the sales area.
With a big hat with a pointy top on his head and a big robe with white eyebrows, the Santa Claus waves to the people and gives bags of food to the children who pass on his way.
Supermarkets also start a special holiday offer. A wide range of goods is labeled with a discounted price, which attracts the passing crowd.
It is what exactly Ferdinand makes ~ follow the future Austrian Christmas, the layout. It seems to work very well. Many goods were sold out, only a row of empty shelves left in the supermarket and tired sales clerks.
Christmas is one of the most important events in the West. The Ferdinand family is no different, as they have all been invited together to the Schönbrunn Palace to have a Christmas banquet with a group of relatives from Vienna.
After that, the family sang and did traditional dances under the Christmas tree and gave each other Christmas gifts. The whole scene was full of a cozy moment.
When the clock struck midnight, Ferdinand and the others stood up. They lit a candle, chanted from the Bible, and wish each other well. After that, they sang a Christmas song, whose origins lie in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.
After singing Christmas hymns, Ferdinand left the Schönbrunn Palace to attend Mass at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna.
At this time, they built a tall Christmas tree in the church. A bright star on the tree stood out, pointing the way to Bethlehem for the "Three Kings of the East", Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.
The streets of Vienna are now full of children, who sing Christmas songs and march through houses to chant carols.
The aristocrats and capitalists also had a rare gracious time. All workers were given a holiday. Many people got to receive Christmas gifts.
At least the people who work for Ferdinand get a Christmas gift of some of the factory's own snacks and some product that doesn't sell well. In any case, all the Ferdinand factories make is food, and it is a good offer to the very poor workers.
If not for the warning of Butler Karl, Ferdinand even sent out the year-end bonus. It's a good thing he took the time to react. He knew that raising the workers' wages without proper consent would be met with hostility from the capitalists in those days.
After a warm and busy Christmas, Ferdinand found himself woken up by Princess Clémentine the next morning.
A bad habit that Ferdinand used to have in his previous life is slumber. Princess Clémentine loathes it, believing that it weakens a person's resolve.
Ferdinand put up several fruitless protests, and at last, meekly do as she told him. He thought she could exclude Christmas, but reality told him no.
The aristocracy in Vienna was slowly rotting down. It was mainly a newly emerged one that was so greedy for leisure that they brought down the aristocratic circle's prestige. The great aristocrats with real legacy were more strict with their offspring than the commoner could imagine.
It is also a custom of the Koháry family to train in the morning. The days of being a military aristocrat are not as good as they are told.
There is a lot of fame and glory in the paper, with very few exceptions. Most German aristocrats who follow their roots in custom are brought up to be strict. They have to learn a lot more than the average person and hardly ever have a good childhood.