America: My Time

Chapter 411 The Vanity of the Neon
Chapter 411 The Vanity of the Neon

In November, in neon-lit Tokyo, the former site of TV Tokyo's Shiba Park, the venue for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, was used as a studio for the show. After John Woo took over TV Tokyo and built a new television station in Roppongi, Minato Ward, the abandoned site became a TV Tokyo studio. This year, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was held at its former location.

When Victoria's Secret moved its fashion show to Tokyo, it faced a lot of ridicule from the media, who thought the brand had become arrogant and was courting disaster, believing that the US was Victoria's Secret's home turf. Unfortunately, their ridicule did not affect Victoria's Secret's decision. Although only a year had passed, Victoria's Secret was no longer what it used to be. Its brand value soared, and it underwent a qualitative transformation. Today, Victoria's Secret has become a top women's fashion brand in the US, with its own queen of the high-end market. It offers not only clothing and shoes but also accessories, focusing on women's fashion with a Baroque style and extreme luxury.

Originally, this was just a suggestion from John, but Victoria's Secret actually succeeded. At its first Spring/Summer Fashion Week in September, it gained the approval of Middle Eastern tycoons and secured substantial orders. This naturally made American fashion brands envious and mocking, believing it was merely an investment by Middle Eastern tycoons to win over John, and not a reflection of Victoria's Secret's exceptional haute couture.

No matter how envious these guys are, it doesn't change the astonishing success of Victoria's Secret Haute Couture. This time, when the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show moved from New York to Tokyo, it was also ridiculed by these same guys.

Despite the ridicule, the brand's influence has not diminished at all. On the contrary, the existence of this ridicule has brought more attention to the Victoria's Secret brand, made more people understand Victoria's Secret, and also brought more attention to the Forever Group.

Although the Forever Group was established relatively recently, it has expanded rapidly under Andrea Jung's leadership. It has achieved remarkable growth not only in top fashion brands but also in fast fashion brands. Now, when the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show comes to Tokyo, it shocks the entire Japanese nation and introduces the Victoria's Secret brand to a wider audience.

This time, in order to gain recognition in Japan for its haute couture, ready-to-wear, women's shoes, and accessories, Victoria's Secret has made more preparations. For this show, Victoria's Secret has been preparing for more than half a year, all in order to gain recognition in the mid-range and high-end markets in Japan and to gain more benefits in the upcoming bubble economy.

Even though the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has moved from New York to Tokyo, it still attracts a lot of media attention, and many celebrities attend. As night falls in Tokyo, big-name stars from Hollywood and around the world flock to Shiba Park and the former site of TV Tokyo, creating a vibrant and bustling atmosphere outside the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show venue.

There were many people who were just there to crash the show, including Hollywood stars, uninvited models, and even more Japanese celebrities. Many wanted to interview John, the media mogul and financial tycoon, but they were disappointed; John and other prominent Japanese figures had already entered the venue, leaving them no opportunity for interviews.

Although the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was held in Tokyo, Japan, Japanese companies still provided considerable sponsorship. Originally, they were only doing so to maintain their relationships with Johnny Depp, as well as with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media. However, seeing that the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was not affected by being held in Tokyo, they felt that the sponsorship was worthwhile.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show also received support from the Tokyo local government, who saw it as a way to promote Tokyo and provided considerable support. Even the Japanese government was very pleased, believing it to be a great opportunity to promote Japan, and also gave Victoria's Secret more preferential treatment. The show had already recouped its costs before it even started.

This situation was unexpected for John, and even for Andrea Jung. They were all shocked by the scale of the event. This was not because of John's status, but more because Japan needed more publicity. The arrival of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show gave them such an opportunity, prompting the well-funded Japanese government and the Tokyo authorities to provide more preferential treatment and sponsorship.

“John, it seems you’re going to succeed again this time. I was worried that we would face some resistance, but I didn’t expect it to attract more attention than when it was held in New York. No wonder the Japanese government and the Tokyo authorities are giving us such support.”

"I've been under considerable pressure. Countless media outlets in the US have been mocking me, criticizing Victoria's Secret for being arrogant. It seems the outcome is good, but I wonder how many viewers the US broadcast will get. This time, it's not just NBC broadcasting it, but Paramount too. I hope the broadcast will get good ratings and that it won't affect Victoria's Secret's development in the US. After all, the current situation is a bit abnormal. I also hope sales in Japan will have a good start!" If it weren't for wanting to seize the opportunity during the bubble economy, John wouldn't have made such a crazy decision. Who could have imagined that it wouldn't be long before the entire country of Japan went crazy, a buying frenzy? Luxury goods in Japan have undergone significant changes. With economic development, the Japanese market is constantly strengthening. The Forever Group's advertising investment in Japan is astonishing, all in an effort to gain a competitive edge.

As for when things have ever been normal in the United States, now that Japanese companies are constantly expanding their presence there, they are naturally being boycotted by American companies. But who can change the current situation? If the dollar doesn't depreciate and the yen doesn't appreciate, there is no hope in sight.

Today, the Ewan Group has already occupied a significant share of the Japanese apparel market. From top luxury brands to fast brands, the Ewan Group has achieved remarkable growth. If the apparel industry had not been neglected by conglomerates, the Ewan Group would likely not have achieved such rapid growth and would have faced considerable resistance.

It is precisely because of the strong promotional efforts of the Eternal Group that its brands have gradually penetrated the hearts of the Japanese. It is because of this rapid development that the Eternal Group has been able to acquire European luxury brands one after another, continuously strengthen its own power, and continue to expand wildly in Japan.

"I'm confident that the sales in Japan won't disappoint you. Aquascutum's brand recognition in Japan has now surpassed Armani, becoming the standard for men in large corporations. The British royal family's preference still inspires great trust." While Akio Morita's words were true, the situation wasn't so simple. This change wasn't just due to the Eien Group's brand promotion of Aquascutum; it was also largely a decision made by the top executives of Japanese companies. For them, any brand could be used, so why not use this opportunity to strengthen their relationship with John? That's why the situation has changed today.

Of course, Armani harbors deep resentment towards Aquascutum, whose sales in Japan have plummeted. No matter how hard Armani's sales efforts are in Japan, they cannot change the status quo. Aquascutum, one of the many luxury brands under the Ewan Group, is currently the dominant force in Japan, conquering territory in menswear, womenswear, and accessories.

"John, when will Nvidia's chip supply be expanded? The current supply is simply not enough to meet the market demand, and the expansion of arcade machines has been severely affected!" Soon, the old man Akio Morita shifted the topic from Victoria's Secret to Nvidia's chips. With the emergence of new arcade machines, Sony is facing a serious shortage of chips.

"It'll be soon. ASUS will be able to resolve the issue soon. It's not a problem with ASUS's manufacturing, but with the lithography machine. ASML has now solved this problem and will soon be able to meet your chip needs, as well as ASUS's own chip needs. ASUS's personal computers have been severely affected recently, and I hope to resolve these issues as soon as possible so that we can increase our market share."

With the release of Nvidia's chips, the high-end market has become Nvidia's domain, and Intel is now being thoroughly defeated. At this point, many people agree with John's assessment: Nvidia is focused on chip development, while Intel is still entangled with Japanese companies in the storage sector, which has affected its chip development and created a generational gap with Nvidia. This situation has made their precarious position extremely dangerous, and many investors are demanding that Intel make changes: either fight Nvidia to the death in chip development or focus on storage and reclaim its market share from the Japanese.

Silent until it speaks, then it astounds – that's ASUS for you. Sony originally wanted to collaborate with Nvidia and Dreamworld on personal computers, but they were rejected. Although many people know that ASUS is Nvidia's contract manufacturer, who could believe that ASUS completed the research and development of personal computers in just a few years? Even the cunning Akio Morita didn't expect that, let alone American companies like Apple.

With the advent of ASUS personal computers, the system software of Dream World has gained recognition, forcing many to admit that ASUS personal computers are much better than Apple's. Moreover, ASUS's prices are very low, giving it an absolute advantage in the market.

The emergence of the 486 chip has put even more pressure on US semiconductor companies. Unfortunately, no one can change this situation. It is impossible to use the power of the government to restrict Nvidia's development. ASUS is not affiliated with Nvidia, and Nvidia does not participate in US government orders. You can buy if you want, but it is impossible to get Nvidia to authorize a second manufacturer. Faced with such a tough stance from Nvidia, the US government cannot force Nvidia to accept their demands.

(End of this chapter)