Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 39 American Visitors
"President, this is Mr. Michael calling."

"Well, OK." Masato Takeshita nodded, took the phone from his assistant, and asked jokingly, "Mr. Michael, why did you suddenly call me today? Is there any good news?"

"Oh, the head of JCPenney in California wants to contact me? No problem, I can do it right now."

JCPenney is one of the three largest retailers in the U.S. Masato Takeshita, a newcomer to the luggage industry, is also familiar with the name.

If the suitcases manufactured by Matsumoto can enter JCPenney, it means that the American suitcase market will be opened to Matsumoto manufacturing.

"Mr. Kevin, President Takeshita has agreed."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Michael." Kevin took the phone and responded politely before greeting Masato Takeshita on the other end of the line: "Hello, Mr. Takeshita. I'm Kevin, the head of JCPenney California."

"Hello, I'm Masato Takeshita, the president of Matsumoto Manufacturing."

After a polite greeting, Kevin got straight to the point: "This is what we want to order from your company: 5 Fengya suitcases; 20 Shuying suitcases; and 15 Linglong suitcases. What's the price?"

"Michael should have said something about the price."

"Yes, I did. But..."

Masato Takeshita ignored the deliberately prolonged pause on the other end of the line and said, "Sorry, we will not take the initiative to lower the factory price, nor will we compromise on the retail price."

"No transportation provided, the price of the Fuya suitcase is 2 yen..."

Matsumoto Manufacturing is the dominant party now, and there is no need to change the existing pricing system just because of JCPenney. When Matsumoto Manufacturing can no longer withstand the pressure and opens up its patents, it will take the initiative to reduce the ex-factory price.

At that time, Matsumoto Manufacturing will implement a tiered pricing system. The more goods you purchase, the cheaper the price will be.

Except for the elegant luggage.

This is the company's high-end brand product and the price will never be reduced on a large scale, even if the retailers reduce the price.

Brand style is difficult to establish and even more difficult to maintain.

Fengya luggage has finally established a foothold in the high-end market, so it naturally cannot lower its prices, lest it loses the style that wealthy people value so much.

Kevin acted as if nothing had happened and said in a gentle tone, "Oh, I see. I wonder if your company welcomes us to visit."

"Of course, Matsumoto Manufacturing welcomes Mr. Kevin to visit us at any time."

Although Kevin has a high level of authority, a huge transaction involving tens of millions of dollars cannot be completed easily over the phone.

He would first inspect the product himself and report to the headquarters after confirming that the product was good. If the headquarters was also optimistic, they would send marketing and procurement leaders to Matsumoto Manufacturing to check the situation.

Of course, even if the headquarters disagrees, a local lord like Kevin still has the right to purchase goods, but the quantity will be much smaller and the price cannot exceed 1000 million US dollars.

Kevin is a proactive leader, he quickly bought the tickets and went to the airport with Pete, his assistant, Michael and others. However, in order to verify some information, he did not go directly to the VIP lounge, but took the flight like ordinary people.

Soon, he got something and was stopped by two girls at the entrance of the airport lobby.

"Excuse me, where can I buy this suitcase?"

"Sorry, we bought this in Japan."

"It's Japan, no wonder."

In the eyes of ordinary Americans, the Japanese were like omnipotent demons. No matter what kind of product it was, the Japanese could develop it quickly. "Indeed." Kevin nodded in understanding, then changed the subject and said, "But I heard that JCPenney will also put some of its products on the shelves in the next few days, and then put them on the shelves on a large scale in a while. If you need it, you can go and have a look."

"J.P. Penney? Yes, thank you sir!"

"It's ok!"

Afterwards, several people were frequently stopped by people asking where to buy trolley suitcases. If it wasn't for the almost boarding time, there would probably be more people asking.

"So many people asked about this. It's the right decision to come this time."

"Yes, let's not talk about anything else. At least those of us who travel frequently on business and airline flight attendants really need this suitcase."

After a series of inquiries just now, Jesse Penny and the others had a deeper understanding of trolley suitcases, and made the decision in their hearts to get this project.

At Tokyo's Haneda Airport, seeing Michael and others getting off the plane, Masato Takeshita immediately went to greet them with his employees.

"Thank you for your hard work, I am Masato Takeshita, the president of Matsumoto Manufacturing."

"Hello, President Takeshita. I'm Kevin, the California regional manager for JCPenney."

After the two men briefly introduced themselves, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then introduced their important subordinates to each other.

The main people on Masato Takeshita's side are Vice President Zensuke Suzuki, Marketing Director Daishi Shimizu, and his assistant Yuriko Kagawa.

Kevin mainly introduced his promising junior Pete, as well as Corbin, the marketing director from JCPenney's headquarters, and Arnold, the purchasing director.

Jesse Penny attached great importance to the suitcase project, believing it to be a great project to enhance the company's reputation and profits, and specially upgraded the personnel level to a higher level.

If it were an ordinary company, JCPenney would at most send a deputy staff member.

"Welcome everyone, we have already booked a restaurant nearby, would you like to go eat something first?"

Although several people were sitting in first class, people still feel uncomfortable when they stay in the air for a long time. Finding a place to eat something after getting off the plane can help you recover better.

"Okay, is it sushi?"

The strength of the Japanese economy also boosted other areas of Japan. Sushi is a typical example, as it is the only oriental cuisine that has entered the high-end market in the West at this time.

"Sorry, we're going to a French restaurant."

Sushi is mainly eaten raw, and Takeshita Masato was worried that his customers would get sick from it, so when he ordered the meal, he simply chose a French meal that would not go wrong.

French cuisine is the most high-end cuisine in the Western world. You can never go wrong if you choose this when entertaining Westerners.

"French food. I want to try the difference between the two countries."

After enjoying a delicious lunch, Takeshita Masato asked casually: "Would you like to take a break right away?"

"Let's go to the factory first. We want to learn about your company's suitcases." Kevin felt that he was not so tired and wanted to take a look at the suitcases made by Matsumoto first.

"OK, no problem."

Tokyo Haneda Airport is located in Ota Ward, where Matsumoto Manufacturing is located, and the Western restaurant that the group went to is also nearby, so the group quickly arrived at Matsumoto Manufacturing.

(End of this chapter)