1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 524 Clothing Strategy
Weiers' idea was not wrong, but Li Changhe did not agree to it immediately.

Although using low-priced brands was Li Changhe's original strategy, the market is changing rapidly. Even if a model was very popular in the past, it may not be successful in the 1980s.

For example, in Japan today, the low-price strategy is not considered a good strategy.

Because people in Japan in the 1980s also pursued yuppie consumption and liked big brands.

Brands like Uniqlo and MUJI all took over the market during the Japanese economic bubble, which broke out between 1990 and 1999.

The United States is currently in an era of explosive consumption. Under such circumstances, if we continue to sell at low prices, it cannot be said to be wrong, but it is very wasteful.

The most important thing is that Li Changhe is very clear that it is easy to establish a civilian brand, but it is difficult to break through further.

Just like the Xiaomi mobile phone in later generations, it quickly occupied the market by focusing on cost-effectiveness at the beginning, but when Xiaomi later broke through to high-end phones, it was not as smooth as Huawei.

The reason is that the brand has stayed in the low-price range for too long, and customers in the high-price range are not buying into it.

Huawei's strategy of moving forward in parallel is much better. The main brand Huawei targets the high-end market, while the sub-brand Honor targets the low-end market.

And when Huawei's high-end brand is established and can be decentralized, it will sell sub-brands such as Honor.

Putting aside the influence of political forces, Li Changhe believes that Huawei's development model is actually more suitable for the current situation in the United States than Xiaomi.

"Vic, do you have any ideas?"

Seeing that Li Changhe was silent for a long time, Weiersi continued to ask.

Li Changhe nodded: "I think we can actually go hand in hand."

"Since we can make a profit from affordable clothing now, I think we can transfer some of the profits to the yuppies you mentioned."

"I estimate that the U.S. consumer market will be relatively good for at least the next ten years. In this environment, if we blindly develop low-end products, we will fall behind."

“Of course, I don’t think we need to rush to establish a brand for the yuppie class. Our main direction is still on civilian brands, but I think we can promote light luxury brands at the same time and slowly establish a brand image.”

"Light luxury?"

When Wei Er Si heard the new words coming out of Li Changhe's mind, a flash of inspiration came to his mind.

"Yes, light luxury. I think this term is more in line with the definition of the yuppie class. This kind of brand can cooperate with fashion magazines for promotion, focusing on designer style and raw materials."

"Bosak already has some factories in Europe. Besides supplying Dior with materials, there must be some surplus. It would be a waste to put them on a civilian brand, so why not use it to create a light luxury brand."

“You have to know that although it is easy to set up a civilian brand, it will be difficult to upgrade it to the mid- to high-end level in the future.”

"Consumption is only compatible with the lower end, and it is difficult to move upward. Middle and high-end customers often have a low recognition of lower-end products, and it is difficult to change their impression."

"So I think we might as well make simultaneous progress while the consumer market is doing well now."

Li Changhe analyzed the situation seriously to Weiers.

Wells sat there thinking.

"If that were the case, our risk would be much greater and the company could easily suffer losses if the market went awry."

Li Changhe's idea is not wrong, but from the perspective of company operations, his model is too radical. Opening multiple fronts without a stable base is actually very risky.

And more importantly, this kind of light luxury brand, like Dior, cannot use the sales channels of today's popular brands. Its sales channels must be re-expanded, which means that the company's scale may have to continue to expand.

"As for the market, I think the United States will be a big consumer market in the next ten years, followed by Japan."

"The consumption potential there is no less than that of the United States. For the development of affordable luxury brands, you can just focus on the metropolises of these two countries. On the contrary, I think Europe can be put aside for a while."

"There are too many designers and niche categories there, so the concept of affordable luxury is not easy to popularize."

Although Li Changhe did not know the future consumer market in the United States, he knew that the stock market would be hot in the next ten years. Even if there were big drops in the middle, it would be upward overall, especially after 1982.

The stock market generally represents the economic situation of the entire country.

What's more, he knew that Reagan's free economics had actually made the United States more prosperous in the past decade.

"As for the funds, don't worry. I can continue to inject capital when necessary!"

Li Changhe said to Weiersi with a smile.

Even though he seemed to be short of money in the past two years, that was only because he had made arrangements in advance.

If he waits another two years, he will have a headache about how to spend the money.

After getting Li Changhe's assurance, Weiers felt relieved.

Now that the big boss has spoken, he knows what to do next.

"Okay, I'll study it after I get back and see how to expand it."

"My suggestion is to open another company and brand and develop it in parallel with ours, just like Dior. We only hold shares and provide raw material advantages, and let them expand independently."

"Of course, if you have enough energy, you can manage them all."

Li Changhe suggested casually, and Weiersi nodded: "Okay, when I get back, I will have a meeting with them to discuss it."

After the two parties had agreed on the company's matters, Li Changhe invited Weiers and others to dinner in the evening.

Rodeo Drive below Beverly Hills not only has many luxury stores from around the world, but also many high-end restaurants.

After finishing the meal, Wei Er Si took his people away, while Li Changhe took Guan Zhilin for a stroll.

Soon, the group arrived at Dior's store.

"Let's go in and take a look!"

Li Changhe took Guan Zhilin in, and as soon as they entered, Guan Zhilin was dazzled by the dazzling array of clothes and products.

"Just take whatever you like!"

Li Changhe said to Guan Zhilin with a smile.

Guan Zhilin's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"Of course, they have some nice perfumes coming out lately, you can pick some."

"Hello, ma'am. This is the new sweetheart series that our company has just launched. You can try it."

After hearing Li Changhe's words, the salesperson next to him immediately introduced the product to Guan Zhilin.

Guan Zhilin took it curiously and sprayed it, while Li Changhe watched quietly from the side.

He was watching the service provided by the salesgirls.

Dior's perfume business is new, or just recently acquired.

After Karl Lagerfeld took over as chief designer of Dior, he met with Li Changhe.

His first request after the meeting was to buy back Dior's perfume and beauty business that it had sold to LV.

After all, in Karl Lagerfeld's opinion, a luxury company will not be able to expand its market without perfume and beauty businesses.

Coincidentally, Bossak had some funds due to the popularity of his suitcases, so he negotiated with the LV Group to buy back Dior's original perfume and beauty business.

Finally, after spending a considerable amount of money, Bosak bought back Dior's beauty business.

And Dior's business lines have reunited after many years.

After observing the overall sales quality in the store, Li Changhe nodded approvingly, then stood up and walked to the side.

"Hello, sir. What else do you need?"

Seeing Li Changhe walk to the side, another salesperson came over. "I want to see your manager. I'm here to pick up my clothes."

Li Changhe spoke gently to the other party.

"clothing?"

"Sir? Who are you?"

Looking at Li Changhe's face, the salesperson's expression gradually became shocked.

She suddenly remembered the recent rumors in the store.

It is said that the company's boss has a manor in Beverly Hills, and a set of clothes was just sent from Europe two days ago. It was prepared for the company's boss. It is said that it is the clothes the boss will wear to attend a dinner party.

The dress was solemnly placed in the VIP room, waiting for the boss's call, and they were ready to deliver it to your door at any time.

They also mentioned during their chat that the company's big boss was said to be an Asian.

And now Li Changhe's attitude made the salesperson remember all this.

Could it be that this person is the one?

"Please wait a moment. I'll go talk to the manager."

A moment later, a tall middle-aged man walked out from behind.

"Hello, Mr. Victor!"

When Rupert saw Li Changhe for the first time, he trotted to Li Changhe and greeted him respectfully.

As the head of Dior's Beverly Hills store, Rupert's status is not low, and he has even seen Li Changhe's photos.

It was sent by the headquarters specifically for him to identify the person.

After all, the store he was in charge of was on Rodeo Drive, where he was most likely to have intersections with the big boss, and was also the most likely to serve the big boss.

"Are you the manager here?"

Li Changhe asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, my name is Rupert, and I'm the owner of this store."

"Sir, your dress is in the VIP room. In fact, you can ask your assistant to make a phone call and I will arrange for the designer to deliver it to you."

Rupert said respectfully.

"It's okay, I came down to eat and walked here by the way, come on, take me to try it!"

Li Changhe shook his head and said indifferently.

He doesn't care about such a small matter.

What he wants to try is not a single piece of clothing, but a whole set, from clothing to accessories to watches.

This is prepared for the banquet in Ligen.

Li Changhe came in a hurry and did not have much time to match the clothes himself, so he simply told Dio and asked them to help prepare.

After all, the people at Dior are professionals when it comes to this kind of clothing matching.

As for clothes, Dior has them ready-made.

In other words, every set of Dior has a finished product prepared for Li Changhe, which is completely tailored according to Li Changhe's body shape.

Just like Pierre Cardin, when Karl Lagerfeld saw Li Changhe for the first time, he was amazed at his boss's perfect body proportions. He not only measured the data, but also made a human body mold based on it, which served as the display mold data for men's clothing.

At the same time, Karl Lagerfeld also decided that all Dior products would have Li Changhe's high-end handmade versions, because his boss must wear his own clothes.

Secondly, Karl Lagerfeld felt that Li Changhe wearing Dior clothes was itself a display of his status in high society, especially with his perfect figure, which made him a natural brand spokesperson for Dior.

"Where are you going, honey?"

Seeing Li Changhe talking to a man and about to leave, Guan Zhilin hurried over.

"I'm going to go in and try on some party clothes. Do you want to go? Or should I just stay here and look around?"

Li Changhe asked curiously.

"Try on some clothes. I'll go with you."

"Let's go then!"

Li Changhe didn't care and took Guan Zhilin to the VIP room.

Soon, several designers came in, each holding a set of clothes in their hands.

"Sir, this time the headquarters has sent you three sets of clothing. One set is a dark black tuxedo, which is suitable for very formal social occasions."

"There is also a dark blue suit, which is suitable for general occasions and can be matched with almost anything."

"Then there is this white suit, which Mr. Lagerfeld specially sent over. He said that if you are attending a private dinner rather than an informal public gathering, he recommends that you wear this suit."

Several designers displayed clothes in front of Li Changhe, who looked at them and smiled.

"Karl wants me to promote him."

Most men simply cannot pull off a white suit, but there is no doubt that this color is eye-catching.

Especially in a banquet with a group of people wearing dark colors, this white suit will definitely be particularly eye-catching.

"Lagerfeld called and said that you are still young and don't need to dress so formally. So if it is not a special occasion, he actually does not recommend you to wear a tuxedo."

"How about you try it first?"

Rupert whispered to Li Changhe.

"Okay, then try this white one first."

Li Changhe wore a white suit once before, when he took wedding photos with his wife, which were taken by Lao Gu and his team.

However, that suit was more traditional, in the style of the Republic of China. Li Changhe only wore it once, when taking photos, and he didn't wear it again after that, after all, it was too conspicuous.

This time, it was Li Changhe's second time wearing a white suit.

The white suit that Karl Lagerfeld designed for Li Changhe himself is actually not exactly a suit. In many aspects of its design, it is actually anti-traditional. For example, there is no bow tie or necktie at the collar, but a completely open design.

But it must be said that this outfit gave Li Changhe a unique temperament, which instantly made Guan Zhilin stare at him.

“It’s really good!”

Looking at himself in the mirror, Li Changhe smiled and nodded.

As expected of the fashion industry, his level is immediately revealed with this move.

Li Changhe's image as an oriental nobleman is highlighted vividly, but overall he does not give people a sense of being old-fashioned.

"As long as you like it, do you think there is something wrong and need some minor adjustments?"

"No, that's it!"

Li Changhe felt that this outfit would be enough for tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)