Chapter 33: Paris Angel Trading Company
Chapter 33: Paris Angel Trading Company
Life in the 18th century moved at a pace as slow as clouds drifting across the horizon.
Although Joseph was aware of the ladies of Versailles scrambling to buy Angel Water, news from the shop didn't reach him until the following evening, brought by the beautician's assistant.
"So, a total of 1460 Livres were sold?" Joseph asked, surprised, looking at the young man. "For 40 bottles?"
"Yes, Your Royal Highness. The ladies and noblewomen were all bidding up the price, making it impossible to buy at the original price. I heard their attendants nearly came to blows in 'The Elegant Source' store."
Joseph let out a long sigh. 'A miscalculation,' he thought. 'I sold it too cheaply!'
'It seems,'
'My heart isn't black enough...'
'I still don't understand the depth of these noblewomen's purses...'
Learning from his painful mistake, Joseph immediately decided: a price hike!
Of course, he couldn't just slap a higher price tag on the existing product; that would look far too crude.
Joseph realized that his previous business plan had been too hasty, failing to fully develop Angel Water's commercial potential.
He immediately returned to his study and wrote furiously, producing over ten pages of notes. He revised them several times before finally stopping, satisfied.
On the "Business Plan" before him, the previous version of Angel Water, designated as the 'taster edition,' was discontinued. The formal version of Angel Water was now divided into three tiers: Luxury Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Standard Edition.
Segment the market and reap profits from noblewomen of varying purchasing power!
The Standard Edition's ingredients and packaging remained the same as before, but the volume was reduced to 4 ounces, priced at 14 Livres.
The Deluxe Edition, building on this, would include some olive oil, be presented in heart-shaped glass bottles, with a brass box as outer packaging, and sold for 26 Livres for 4 ounces.
The Luxury Edition, based on the Deluxe, would add a small amount of lanolin and incorporate several fragrances like lavender, jasmine, and immortelle—essentially, different essential oils. The bottles would feature a floral design corresponding to the scent, packaged in pure silver boxes, and sold for 50 Livres for 4 ounces.
Additionally, he planned to develop a series of Angel Water products.
His first choice was facial masks.
He had seen the facial masks of this era; most were applied directly to the face, while others involved mask-like coverings. The fabric, disposable sheet masks, popular in later times, had not yet appeared.
Yet, these were incredibly simple to produce: custom-made, face-shaped fabric pieces, soaked in Angel Water without thickeners, would do the trick.
Given the frenzy among the noblewomen of Versailles for beauty products these past two days, he could already foresee that the market for facial masks would undoubtedly be strong.
Joseph also categorized the facial masks into three tiers.
The Luxury Edition would use silk, the Deluxe Edition wool, and the Standard Edition cotton cloth. They would be disposable products, discarded after use. The prices would be 5 Livres, 3 Livres, and 2 Livres per mask, respectively.
Furthermore, the product line would also include: hand cream, foot cream, toner...
Essentially, it was a matter of adjusting the proportions of glycerin and Salicin in the Angel Water base, or simply adding more lanolin. A change of packaging and name would create a different product—a common tactic in the cosmetics industry of later eras.
Beyond enriching the product line, Joseph also redeveloped his marketing strategy.
Consignment sales certainly wouldn't suffice; direct sales through dedicated stores would be far more professional.
He would implement a VIP membership system, divided into Gold Card, Silver Card, and General Card members. The first two types of cards would be crafted from real gold and silver, maximizing the sense of occasion and emphasizing pure luxury.
Finally, he envisioned a licensed franchise model, spreading across all of Europe!
Joseph looked at the thick stack of business plans and realized this was no longer something he could simply dabble in alone. It required a company and a large number of employees to manage such an extensive operation.
He immediately summoned all his attendants and began delegating tasks.
The accountant was tasked with leading a team to procure glycerin and other raw materials, as well as customizing bottles and outer packaging. This time, long-term contracts would be signed with suppliers to ensure stable stock.
The beautician would take several maidservants to oversee the bottling of Angel Water. Initially, 200 bottles per day would be released onto the market, with production scaling up once the specialty stores were ready.
The lawyer, meanwhile, would register a company in Joseph's name.
At this point, Joseph, a perpetual 'struggler with names,' paused. After a long moment of thought, he decided the name should emphasize its connection to Angel Water, and thus the company was finally christened "Paris Angel Trading Company."
As for the company's premises, and matters like hiring management and staff, he wasn't particularly concerned.
All bottles and packaging for the cosmetics were custom-ordered from shops in Paris, and raw materials like glycerin and essential oils could be readily purchased on the market. The "Paris Angel" company would actually only be responsible for the final steps of bottling, packaging, and sales.
These tasks required no specialized skills, so workers could be easily recruited. As for management and sales, Paris, being one of Europe's most developed commercial cities, had an abundance of such talent.
Moreover, most of the Crown Prince's personal attendants were idle, so if he truly lacked personnel, they could temporarily fill in.
The sole core technology for all products—Salicin—remained firmly in Joseph's hands. Not even Lamarck knew that what he was processing for the Crown Prince was actually a cosmetic raw material.
Thus, even if all the hired staff rebelled, they couldn't replicate a single drop of Angel Water.
Once the tasks were assigned, Joseph found himself with free time again. Seeing that it was still early, he had Eman prepare the carriage for a trip to Paris, intending to personally select a location for the specialty store.
The carriage rattled along for several hours, entering the city of Paris just after noon.
Eman suddenly pointed out the carriage window. "Your Royal Highness, your perfume workshop—oh, it's now been converted into a pharmaceutical workshop—it's right there."
Sure enough, Joseph saw a sizable compound in the distance, nestled beside a tributary of the Seine River, with a massive waterwheel slowly turning on the east side of the courtyard.
He said to Eman, "Let's go, take a look."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
The compound was vast, containing over a dozen rooms of various sizes, with an empty plot of land larger than two basketball courts.
Seeing the demeanor and attire of Joseph's party, the gatekeeper dared not obstruct them, instead, he eagerly led them into the compound.
Soon, Lamarck, wearing an apron, came out to greet them, bowing to Joseph. "Your Royal Highness, what brings you here?"
Joseph returned the smile and replied, "I intend to open a shop in Paris, and I came to see you along the way."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Royal Highness," Lamarck said. "In fact, I also have something I wanted to discuss with you."
"Oh? What is it? Please speak."
Lamarck gestured towards the workshop. "There were over 40 workers here previously, but purifying Salicin doesn't require nearly that many people. What do you think, should we dismiss them, or assign some to continue making perfumes?"
'More people is a good thing!' Joseph immediately instructed, "Neither dismiss them nor have them produce perfumes. Instead, procure more equipment and continue expanding Salicin production; that will keep them occupied."
His goal was to transform "Paris Angel" into a luxury empire marketed across Europe and launched in America, so the demand for core raw materials would undoubtedly be enormous.
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