Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 999 is not about persuasion, but about selection.

At 214 42nd Street, inside the New Amsterdam Theatre, a musical had just ended, and scattered applause rang out.

As one of the audience members, Hideki Hanyu clapped and said to the red-haired beauty Grey Hayes next to him.

"What a wonderful performance."

His words were not just polite flattery, because he had just watched "42nd Street," which premiered on Broadway in 1980 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical that year.

The group American tap dance scene in the show is definitely a benchmark in the musical theater industry.

However, despite the musical's appeal, theater attendance was low.

As for the reason, Hideki Hanyu, who had just finished talking with Peter Peterson and had read some materials, knew a little about it.

Built between 1902 and 1903, the New Amsterdam Theatre is one of the three oldest surviving theatres on Broadway.

Even without looking at the date, you can tell the history of this theater just by looking at its name.

Because in the 17th century, during the Age of Exploration and colonialism, New York was originally colonized by the Netherlands, and the Dutch named it New Amsterdam.

The name of New York today was changed after it was captured by the British.

The New Amsterdam Theatre once enjoyed great success, but it was briefly closed during the Great Depression of the 1930s due to economic hardship.

When it reopened, the rapid development of the film industry plunged the New Amsterdam Theatre into financial difficulties once again.

The New Amsterdam Theatre changed hands several times afterward, and was even used as a movie theater for a time, which is a common practice for many Broadway theaters when they are struggling financially.

Even so, the New Amsterdam Theatre still failed to survive, declaring bankruptcy four years ago. After a series of bankruptcy reorganizations, it was eventually acquired by the New York City Development Corporation, which is affiliated with the New York City government.

After becoming a state-owned enterprise in New York, the New Amsterdam Theatre has been operating at half capacity, with no regular performances.

The occasional performances can only be considered a cultural showcase of New York.

This is why the New Amsterdam Theatre is not included in Peter Peterson's theatre portfolio today.

Because its control is held by the government, it is inconvenient to carry out some "flexible" business operations.

However, there is still some information about Hideki Hanyu's past life regarding the New Amsterdam Theatre.

That is, after the theater closed until the mid-1990s, it reopened as Broadway was revitalized.

Hollywood giant Disney, in order to promote its intellectual property and increase revenue from related merchandise, partnered with the New York City Development Corporation to reopen the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Then, Disney classic musicals such as "The Lion King" and "Aladdin," which are must-sees for Broadway visitors, were launched here.

Benefiting from Disney's powerful promotional efforts and the audience drawn by the original animated series, the New Amsterdam Theatre has achieved great success since its reopening.

As for the subsequent impact of masks, which plunged Broadway into another operational crisis, that's a matter for the future, and Hideki Hanyu doesn't need to think about it now.

In response to Hideki Hanyu's praise, Grace Hayes said, "42nd Street is indeed a masterpiece of Broadway and a manifestation of American culture."

Hideki Hanyu neither confirmed nor denied what Grace Hayes had said.

The story of 42nd Street truly captures the spirit and energy of America's golden age.

But today, this spirit, which can be described as the "American Dream," has entered its final stage.

And soon, we'll only be able to see it in movies.

Of course, this development is, in a sense, a good thing for capitalists like Hideki Hanyu.

After all, if the big brother doesn't leave, America will thrive, and capitalists like him will be "exploited" wherever they are.

As they spoke, the two of them, along with the other guests, walked out of the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Hideki Hanyu glanced at the dark sky, then at the Rolls-Royce Marco had driven to the side of the road, and then said to Grace Hayes beside him.

"Miss Grey, would you like my driver to take you home first?"

Just as Grace Hayes invited him to see the opera, that old fox Peter Peterson made an excuse to leave first.

As a seasoned womanizer, Hideki Hanyu could easily see that Peter Peterson was deliberately creating opportunities for him and Grey Hayes to be alone.

But it must be said that this red-haired beauty is very much to his liking, and if he could seduce her, the scumbag wouldn't refuse either.

A polite inquiry is just a test; the next step is to observe the other person's reaction.

The next moment, Grace Hayes's voice rang out, "It's still early, Mr. Seraphim, won't you buy me a drink?"

There is a play!

Upon hearing the beautiful woman's suggestion, Hideki Hanyu immediately replied, "I'm not very familiar with the area. How about Miss Grey recommends a place for drinks?"

“I heard that there is a nice bar in the hotel where you are staying.”

Grey Hayes' directness surprised even Hideki Hanyu.

However, with beautiful women offering themselves up, he, being a scumbag, naturally wouldn't turn them away.

“Really? I didn’t know that. Then I must go and try it with Miss Grey today.”

After saying that, Hideki Yuzuru stepped forward, opened the car door, and invited the red-haired beauty to get in.

As the car doors closed, the car started and drove toward the hotel where Hideki Hanyu was staying.

Tonight, it's destined to be another sleepless night.

……

The first day of October.

In the morning, Hideki Hanyu met with several Supreme executives, led by Yoshiyuki Ishizuka, as well as representatives of other investors.

Over the years, Supreme has become a globally renowned comprehensive apparel brand.

Unlike traditional luxury brands and mass-market clothing brands, Supreme expands outward with skateboarding culture and hip-hop style at its core, focusing on the trendy route that young people care about most. Although it is not mainstream, it is extremely popular among young consumers.

In terms of influence alone, it is no less than those established high-end brands.

Most importantly, Supreme has diversified its product offerings.

It includes not only clothing, accessories, hats, and shoes, but also bags, watches, and so on.

In addition, they will launch co-branded products with other brands, such as water bottles, stationery, and cultural products, using various means to promote brand awareness.

However, if we consider Supreme itself, in order to maintain its positioning, it must maintain the image of a "streetwear brand" and cannot break away from a relatively niche market.

Even Hideki Hanyu couldn't have imagined that the sub-brand Supreme, the black label sportswear brand Supreme·Sport (S&S), would emerge from the Supreme brand.

However, after its inception, it expanded rapidly around the world at an even more exaggerated pace than its parent brand.

In addition, there were some small tips and help from Hideki Hanyu, such as signing promising young athletes in advance, sponsoring influential sports events, and leveraging the powerful media promotion capabilities of the cloud platform.

This has made 'S&S' stand out among global sports brands, firmly establishing itself in the top tier in terms of market share, revenue, and brand awareness.

The achievements of 'S&S' are the reason why Supreme executives and investor representatives came to meet with Hideki Hanyu today.

They want to separate 'S&S' from Supreme and then launch the brand.

However, the meeting was not pleasant.

Hideki Hanyu is not opposed to splitting up 'S&S' and listing it on the stock exchange.

After all, in Hideki Hanyu's view, Supreme's positioning as a streetwear brand inherently has a ceiling to its development.

However, the development of 'S&S' will get better and better. In the future, the mother and son will become bigger and more mutually restrictive, which will definitely have an impact.

Furthermore, 'S&S' has now reached a bottleneck in its development and needs more funds to improve its global layout. Going public to raise funds is undoubtedly the best option.

Furthermore, it's quite normal for investors to want to profit from IPOs in the past. Therefore, the 'S&S' spin-off listing itself was not the reason for the unpleasant meeting.

What was truly unpleasant was the splitting plan proposed by Yoshiyuki Ishizuka, the head of Supreme.

Regarding the equity distribution and board power structure of the independent company, Hideki Hanyu immediately understood that many of the rules and conditions were designed to dilute his interests and rights as Supreme's primary investor.

In fact, if it's just about profit, Hideki Hanyu doesn't care too much.

The fact that Hideki Hanyu was able to share equity and accept external investment during the founding and development of Supreme proves that he is not petty about personal gain.

Not to mention Supreme, even Hideki Hanyu has brought in new forces to the board of directors of Cloud Entertainment Group this year.

However, this must be done on the premise that it does not affect Hideki Hanyu's control over the company.

Whether you say he's power-hungry or has a strong desire for control, this is the bottom line he must adhere to.

As a time traveler, Hideki Hanyu was well aware that some decisions, which might seem irrational or incorrect to outsiders, would bring immeasurable benefits in the future.

Just like when Cloud Entertainment was still establishing itself in Japan, Hideki Hanyu insisted on expanding overseas, even at the cost of all profits.

If Hideki Hanyu cannot control the company, such decisions simply cannot be implemented.

Therefore, 'S&S' can be split up or listed on the stock exchange, but key decisions concerning future development must be made by Hideki Hanyu.

Only in this way can Hideki Hanyu ensure that 'S&S' will not make mistakes in its future development.

For example.

If, in 1996, 'S&S' had chosen Lorenzen Wright, the seventh pick, over Kobe Bryant, the thirteenth pick, when signing NBA rookies, Hideki Hanyu wouldn't have had to watch helplessly as he was powerless to change the situation.

If Hideki Hanyu continues to hold power in 'S&S', he won't even have to wait for the draft; he'll just hand over big contracts to Allen Iverson and Kobe.

Therefore, when the morning meeting came to a close, when Yoshiyuki Ishizuka heard Hideki Hanyu oppose the equity distribution and the board structure, and stated that he would not compromise,

Yoshiyuki Ishizuka said, "President Hanyu, I hope you can respect the development of S&S and not put your personal interests and rights above the future of the company."

Hideki Hanyu immediately replied, "I did this for the development and future of S&S."

"President Yuzuru, this is a joint decision made by all the senior executives and investors of Supreme. I hope you will give it serious consideration."

By making these remarks, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka was clearly trying to pressure Hideki Hanyu, bringing together Supreme's top management and other investors.

After hearing this, Hideki Yuzuru did not immediately get angry. Instead, he smiled and looked at Yoshiyuki Ishizuka with great interest.

He truly never expected that this subordinate, who had been ousted from Uniqlo and had only managed to lead Supreme to its current position through his promotion, cultivation, investment, and assistance, would now try to betray him.

Come to think of it, this seems to be the first subordinate he's ever done this since he started his business.

Although Hideki Hanyu didn't know who gave Yoshiyuki Ishizuka the courage, he could guess Ishizuka's motives.

To a large extent, it's not about profit, but about power.

After all, the other party has been in charge of Supreme since it was small, and believes that Supreme's success is all due to himself. He is no longer the down-and-out person who was kicked out of Uniqlo back then, so it is normal for him not to want to have a "retired emperor" above him.

Even if this "emperor emeritus" is a hands-off manager who doesn't participate in management on a daily basis, but only occasionally makes decisions that affect the company's development.

But power is power, and once it's in your hands, it's hard not to lose yourself in it.

When faced with such a Yoshiyuki Ishizuka, Hideki Hanyu was also thinking about it.

If Supreme hadn't entered the Japanese market, and another key figure in Supreme, Nobusada Shiina, hadn't returned to Japan, perhaps due to Shiina's involvement, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka wouldn't have become so arrogant.

But it's too late to think about it now.

Faced with Ishizuka Yoshiyuki's attempt to force him to resign, Hideki Hanyu simply replied with a curt remark.

"Is that so? But I think your decision is insignificant. Instead of making me consider your decision, you should consider my opinion."

At this point, Hideki Hanyu simply waved his hand to see the guest out.

"Go back and think about it. Don't let me down."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka seemed to want to say something more, but suddenly noticed a flash of cold light in the eyes of Hideki Hanyu as he looked at him with a smile.

Ishizuka Yoshiyuki, who had been full of confidence, immediately swallowed his words.

He bowed and said, "President Yuzuru, farewell."

After saying that, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka led the group away.

However, one of these people stayed behind.

It was none other than Dante Kane, the current head of Hope Angel Investment.

After only the two of them were left in the room, Dante Kane looked at Hideki Hanyu with an apologetic expression.

"Boss, I'm very sorry, this is my dereliction of duty."

Hideki Hanyu nodded. "This is indeed your dereliction of duty."

However, judging from his expression, Hideki Hanyu did not seem to blame Dante Kane.

Because Hideki Hanyu knew that although Dante Kane had failed in his duty, it was not intentional, and that he himself was partly to blame.

Hope Angel Investments has too many and too varied investments in America, and Dante Kane has too many things to pay attention to, many of which are more important than Supreme.

For example, Starbucks, which is expanding rapidly.

For example, Cisco, which acquired Qualcomm and is now thriving.

For example, it also involves cooperating with Hideki Hanyu's global investment plan, holding shares in and managing some overseas companies, etc.

Recently, their busiest task has been cooperating with America Entertainment Investment Company in the acquisition of Blockbuster.

Furthermore, as Hideki Hanyu's "own man," Yoshiyuki Ishizuka had long ago entrusted him with the management of Hope Angels at Supreme, a move that Hideki Hanyu tacitly approved.

Under these circumstances, it's understandable that Dante Kane couldn't afford to worry about Supreme splitting up 'S&S'.

Even today, Dante Kane came to see Hideki Hanyu not because of Supreme, but to report on other work.

Dante Kane understood what Hideki Hanyu meant, and after composing himself, asked, "Boss, what are we going to do next?"

"No rush. Since I said to let them think about it, we should give them some time."

As Hideki Hanyu spoke, he casually wrote down a few names on the paper in front of him.

Then he pushed the paper in front of Dante Kane, “Go see them yourself, you know what to do, right?”

Dante Kane glanced at the names and found that they were all top executives from Supreme's investors.

Dante Kane instantly understood that although Hideki Hanyu said he would give him time to consider, he was actually already planning to take action.

Hideki Hanyu sent him to meet these people in order to persuade these investors to abandon Yoshiyuki Ishizuka and choose to stand on their side again.

However, these guys chose Ishizuka Yoshiyuki for their own benefit, and even if he went to talk to them personally, it would be difficult to persuade them.

Therefore, he answered directly, "Boss, I know what to do, but I'm not confident I can convince them."

Hideki Hanyu stood up and walked towards the door, saying casually.

"My goal is not to persuade, but to screen."

And they are not as important as you might think.

Do as I say…

(End of this chapter)