Chapter 158: Revenue Settlement
Flesselles added, "This is merely the organizing committee's income. The City Hall should have several hundred thousand livres in additional revenue, but the exact figure still needs to be tallied by them."
Only the income from the Tuileries Palace and the amusement park belonged to the Fashion Week organizing committee, while money earned from public carriages, museums, theaters, and similar attractions went to City Hall.
Joseph nodded calmly, though he felt quite excited within. This figure was nearly a million livres higher than his projections. And this was only the sixth day of Fashion Week; there were still two days left, so the total profit would surely exceed 5 million livres. As for why Fashion Week lasted eight days? Well, in truth, there were still over half a month of various activities to follow, such as fashion art exhibitions, charity weeks, gourmet weeks, and so on, continuing until the end of the month.
However, he wasn't overly surprised by this income. After all, an all-inclusive entertainment package like this, coupled with the massive draw of fashion, was a first in the world and was bound to be sought after by the European elite.
These were still the results in an era with less convenient transportation and communication. For example, almost no one came from America, and even guests from Eastern Europe were relatively few. In a railway era, the Fashion Week's revenue could probably double.
Furthermore, Joseph had several other significant earnings yet to be calculated.
First was the real estate project.
The vacant land in the Tuileries Palace gardens had been developed into the "Palace Gardens" residential complex. The first phase consisted of 75 villas, with an average price of 48,000 livres. Half of them had already been sold, bringing in over 1.8 million livres. And every day, a continuous stream of people came to inquire and view the properties.
Keep in mind that these houses weren't even built yet, so nobody could see the finished product. Otherwise, they might have sold out long ago.
Moreover, once the first phase was completed, the accompanying facilities like hospitals and schools would also be finished, making the second phase almost pure profit.
Compared to the massive funds generated by real estate, the sales of "Paris Angel" company's cosmetics and "Gemstone Jay" Carriage Company's carriages seemed less impressive.
Cosmetics sold for over 800,000 livres in six days, while the carriage company, being newly established, suffered from a severe lack of supply, bringing in less than 120,000 livres in revenue.
Joseph roughly estimated that by the end of the month, when the Fashion Week activities concluded, the organizing committee should earn around 7 million livres. The French treasury and the royal family took the lion's share, while the Paris Chamber of Commerce, having invested some money, received a 3% share of the profits.
However, for Joseph, most of this money was his. The French government owed him 6 million livres in loans, and he had poured several more million into buying grain. 'Even between close associates, proper accounting is essential, and the French government must repay these funds to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so it might as well be transferred from the Fashion Week's earnings.'
As for the royal family's portion, it went directly into his pocket. The Queen had initially said she would let her son use the Tuileries Palace for free. Of course, he would certainly have to give some amount to the Queen later; 'everyone profits, and the path ahead broadens.'
The income from the "Palace Gardens" belonged entirely to Joseph, as he was the sole developer. He had spent 50,000 livres to purchase the land in the Tuileries Palace gardens—at the time, it was just vacant land; now it had transformed into Paris's most exclusive luxury residential area.
All things considered, after all the effort he put into organizing this Fashion Week, his net income was approximately 10 million livres.
With this money, he could purchase more grain from overseas to cope with the impending great famine.
Joseph continued to review the Fashion Week's detailed income statement.
Among all items, the highest revenue naturally came from sales commissions for fashion, footwear, headwear, and jewelry, including storefront rentals, totaling 1.47 million livres. Based on a 15-25% commission rate, Fashion Week had, so far, sold over 6 million livres worth of clothing and jewelry!
The second-highest earning item, however, took Joseph by surprise—it was the unassuming arcade.
The 75 machines in the Tuileries Palace and the 30 machines outside had collectively earned over 800,000 livres in these six days!
On average, each machine earned 1,200 livres per day!!
Joseph suddenly thought, 'Why bother with all the hard work in industry and commerce when this is so much faster?'
However, he also understood that these gaming machines made so much money for two reasons: first, their novelty, as everyone was eager for something new; and second, the attendees of Fashion Week were all immensely wealthy individuals who, once caught up in the fun, didn't care how much money they spent.
Given time, once the novelty wore off and economic factors came into play, such exaggerated income would certainly be impossible.
Moreover, Joseph didn't want the French people to become financially strapped from indulging in these gaming machines. 'In the future, I'll just keep a dozen or so units at the Versailles Palace; the rest can all be sent to the colonies.'
The subsequent income items were: accommodation, Eden Amusement Park, exclusive services, dining, and so on.
Joseph then inquired with Flesselles about other operational matters concerning Fashion Week, but hearing melodious music from outside, he had to conclude the revenue report—the catwalk show was due to start in a little over ten minutes, and Flesselles needed to attend to it.
Joseph gazed out the window at the bustling Fashion Week venue, already planning how to maximize the benefits of this grand event.
In truth, he cared less about the direct economic income and more about the Fashion Week's intangible benefits.
For example, its immense contribution to enhancing France's image.
When the guests who attended Fashion Week returned home, they would undoubtedly recount the splendor of the event and the prosperity of Paris to everyone.
This would attract additional investment to France, as well as various talented individuals yearning for its comfortable environment.
Once Fashion Week's influence stabilized, it could serve as a foundation for organizing "European Expositions" and various award ceremonies, further elevating France's international standing and attracting more investment and talent.
Additionally, the total value of all types of clothing sold during this Fashion Week exceeded 4 million livres, with a large portion of it coming from Lyon.
Previously, due to the insufficient competitiveness of France's textile industry and the lowered tariffs from the Eden Treaty, Lyon's textile industry was on the brink of collapse.
Historically, the mass unemployment of Lyon's textile workers was also one of the triggers for the Great Revolution.
However, the promotion from this Fashion Week would lead to surging sales of French clothing—'Even if France's textile technology can't match Britain's, our clothes selling well can largely compensate for the high cost of fabric.'
Of course, currently, most families bought fabric and made their own clothes, so the ready-to-wear market was still very small and primarily concentrated at the lowest end.
Nevertheless, Joseph was confident that by employing certain promotional strategies, he could significantly increase ready-to-wear sales.
This would allow France's textile industry to safely endure until it could compete head-to-head with the British.
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