Why would Chae Myeong-ho come all the way here?
I had a rough idea of why he came.
I was about to tell them to just send him back, but then I looked at Kim Jae-hak next to me and changed my mind.
“Tell him I’m in a meeting and he’ll have to wait.”
“Understood.”
After Team Leader Jung Gi-hong left, I continued to listen to the franchisees.
Franchises definitely have their advantages.
From the perspective of the founder, they can receive the business methods and recipes of an already verified company, and they don’t have to worry about purchasing ingredients and such individually. The headquarters is also responsible for interior design, advertising, and marketing.
The headquarters helps with opening franchise locations and receives franchise fees, training fees, store interior costs, etc. On top of that, they secure profits again through royalties and various commissions, as well as by adding a margin to the materials they exclusively supply.
The problem is when the headquarters extracts excessive profits from existing franchisees or focuses solely on attracting new franchisees.
The prices of chicken and pizza continued to soar, but the actual amount of money the franchisees could pocket was minimal.
While the franchisees were dying inside their small stores, the headquarters grew bigger day by day.
MCK Group’s profit margin reaches 20 percent. Considering that the profit margin of most franchises is below 10 percent, this is nearly double the figure.
But absurdly, both the sales and profits of the franchisees are declining.
That’s because while the headquarters’ sales increase as the number of branches grows, from the franchisee’s perspective, it’s like a competitor is being created nearby, so a drop in sales is unavoidable.
In addition, if the selling price goes up, sales volume decreases, and the cost of materials supplied by the headquarters only goes up and never comes down.
However, it’s difficult to protest properly. They could face various disadvantages or have their contracts terminated.
These people didn’t jump into self-employment with the mindset of making a killing. If they had other ways to make a living, they wouldn’t have chosen the path of opening a franchise in the first place.
In short, MCK Group is engaging in abuse of power by holding the livelihoods of its franchisees hostage.
After listening to everything, I said to the franchisees.
“I’ve heard what you’ve said. I will definitely ensure these issues are improved.”
They said earnestly.
“We sincerely ask for your help.”
***
The franchisees got up, and Ellie also returned to the office.
After leaving the conference room, I went down to the meeting room with Taek-gyu and Kim Jae-hak.
Taek-gyu asked.
“Who came to see you?”
“Chae Myeong-ho.”
Kim Jae-hak’s expression seemed to stiffen slightly at my words.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
When I entered, Chae Myeong-ho, who was sitting in the meeting room, jumped up from his seat. However, he was taken aback when he saw Taek-gyu and Kim Jae-hak following me in.
I sat down and said.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, well… I wanted to apologize for what happened last time. I’m sorry.”
Unlike when I first saw him at school, he looked like a docile lamb.
I threw the documents I was holding in front of Chae Myeong-ho.
“It’s a good thing you came. I did some research on MCK Group after that day, and you’ve been doing quite well for yourselves. Putting a supplier called MCK Wholesale in the middle to tack on a toll, passing all the costs of discount events onto the franchisees, unfairly collecting advertising and promotional fees, conducting hygiene inspections or unilaterally terminating contracts for franchisees who didn’t listen. It looks like some of the interior design and promotional costs were received into shadow accounts. I think there are more than a few charges we could file, including embezzlement, breach of trust, and tax evasion. What do you think?”
Chae Myeong-ho scanned the documents with a shocked expression.
When people are cornered, their true nature comes out. He couldn’t hold back and shouted.
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I do so wrong to you, senior?”
His expression and voice were full of resentment. Anyone who didn’t know the situation would think he was the victim. And he probably truly believed that.
I nodded.
“That’s right. You didn’t particularly do anything wrong to me. So why are you saying sorry to me? The person you really need to ask for forgiveness from is someone else.”
Chae Myeong-ho’s gaze turned towards Kim Jae-hak.
Everything was revealed in his hesitant expression.
If he had even a little bit of remorse, he would have gone to Kim Jae-hak instead of me.
In Chae Myeong-ho’s mind, I am a powerful person with a lot of money. Therefore, he can bow his head and apologize to me as much as needed. However, Kim Jae-hak, being a franchisee, is weak.
So, he could think about apologizing to me, but not about apologizing to Kim Jae-hak.
He’s the typical type who is weak to the strong and strong to the weak.
Well, there are bound to be people like that in the world.
Judging by his expression, there’s no need to say any more.
“Just drop out of school.”
I got up from my seat, and Chae Myeong-ho, with his eyes bulging out, lunged at me.
“You son of a bitch, Kang Jin-hoo!”
Before I could even react in surprise, Kim Jae-hak, who was next to me, moved first.
Thwack!
“Ugh.”
Kim Jae-hak’s fist landed squarely on his solar plexus. Having taken an unexpected blow, Chae Myeong-ho collapsed onto the spot.
I looked at Kim Jae-hak. He looked surprised and flustered, as if he was surprised himself.
Right. He was a person with a bit of a temper originally. I’m glad to see his old self again.
I patted his shoulder.
“You did very well.”
Taek-gyu said.
“It is the way of the world that people who commit sins receive punishment. Do you understand? From now on, I’m going to give you your punishment, so accept it willingly.”
What the heck is this all of a sudden?
Taek-gyu had a look of exhilaration on his face.
“I really wanted to say that line.”
“…….”
Stop it already.
You can’t live your life doing everything you want to do.
***
We reported the data collected from the franchisees to the press and also filed a lawsuit with the prosecution.
At this point, another incident erupted.
When a franchisee, unable to endure the headquarters’ abuse of power, terminated his franchise agreement and switched to a private chicken restaurant, Master Chicken opened a large directly operated store right in front of it.
It was essentially retaliatory opening. Eventually, the franchisee, driven to the brink of bankruptcy again, couldn’t bear it and took his own life.
Compared to this, it was minor, but it was also revealed that Chairman Chae Dae-ho habitually assaulted his security guard and driver.
Public opinion was boiling.
– They keep raising chicken prices and charge extra for delivery, and now it turns out they were stabbing their franchisees in the back.
– Franchisees are hit with retaliatory openings, security guards are hit with fists, and drivers are kicked.
– At this point, he could probably go head-to-head with Conor McGregor in the octagon.
– Not sure about the punches, but their personalities are equally terrible. Both are trash…
– Let’s not order from Betrayal Chicken.
– The comment above is right. Not buying is the answer.
– It’s also a problem that people only like brand-name chicken. Let’s support local chicken restaurants from now on.
– There are also many chicken franchises that coexist with their franchisees.
-I’m just going to buy whole chickens and fry them myself.
MCK Group Chairman Chae Dae-ho stepped forward to apologize, but the situation showed no signs of calming down.
The prosecution conducted a search and seizure of MCK Group. As the situation became more serious, MCK Wholesale announced that it would lower the supply prices of essential items such as seasoned chicken, dough, and cheese, but it was already too late.
The backlash from franchisees intensified, and the number of existing franchisees leaving also increased. The situation was even more severe for Meister Pizza, with franchise inquiries completely ceasing.
There were too many charges and public opinion was so bad that the prosecution eventually arrested Chairman Chae Dae-ho. Chae Myeong-ho avoided arrest, but was under investigation without detention.
***
The construction of the M Pizza flagship store was completed, and it was just awaiting its opening.
The dough, cheese, and sauce were all supplied by the US headquarters, and the remaining ingredients were procured independently.
As Ceylon Hotel operates buffets and restaurants in its various hotels, procuring ingredients for one or two branches was not a problem. Later, as the number of branches increases, they will need to increase the number of suppliers accordingly.
The store located in Ceylon Hotel does not offer delivery but does offer room service. The Ceylon State business hotel locations will offer delivery as well.
CEO Im Soo-mi announced that she would prioritize hiring veterans wounded in service while recruiting store managers and administrators for the directly operated stores. They welcomed those with disabilities such as amputations or burns. Furthermore, a portion of the sales would be used to help with the treatment and rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
When a reporter pointed out that customers using the store might feel uncomfortable, CEO Im Soo-mi stated firmly.
“People who feel uncomfortable with that don’t have to come.”
The internet was filled with praise.
– Lol, she said if you’re uncomfortable, don’t come.
– Soo-mi’s noona’s got guts. So cool.
– Look at the rudeness of that reporter. People with disabilities are uncomfortable, why would the people looking at them be uncomfortable?
– I don’t like Seosung Group, but this is a really good thing.
– What has the country done for the soldiers who were injured while serving the nation?
– I heard Kang Jin-hoo suggested this to CEO Im Soo-mi.
– As expected of someone who served in active duty, he knows what’s what.
– Give soldiers proper compensation.
As criticism poured in, the news outlet quietly took down the article.
In most Korean franchises, it was customary to have low royalties (or none at all) and instead place high margins on ingredients and subsidiary materials, and collect money under the guise of events and marketing.
However, M Pizza decided to operate primarily on royalties, just like in the US. They also plan to minimize the essential items supplied by the headquarters and set prices reasonably. They also allowed franchisees to form an association so they could negotiate with the headquarters on an equal footing.
When this fact became known, franchise inquiries poured in like a flood.
***
Finally, the M Pizza flagship store opened in the Namsan Ceylon Hotel.
CEO Im Soo-mi, as well as Chairman Im Jin-yong, attended the opening ceremony.
“I never imagined we would be collaborating on pizza.”
“Indeed. It just happened that way.”
Max flew in from M Pizza headquarters in place of Milo, who had scheduling conflicts.
As expected, it had been a while since we last met, so we greeted each other warmly.
In addition to them, Hyun-joo noona, Ellie, and Senior Sang-yeop and Henry also attended. Surprisingly, the US ambassador also came.
It was to celebrate the entry of an American franchise into Korea.
President Ronald also posted a picture on Twitter of himself with White House staff holding M Pizza, along with the message, “Congratulations on M Pizza’s entry into Korea. We expect the healthy pizza made with American flour and cheese to capture the taste buds of Koreans.”
US Ambassador Thomas Jang, being a Korean-American, spoke fluent Korean.
“Personally, I really like pizza, but are there any plans for a branch near Gwanghwamun?”
CEO Im Soo-mi smiled and said.
“We are planning to open a directly operated store at Ceylon State in that area.”
“Oh! That’s welcome news. I’ll have to tell the embassy staff.”
After the participants stood in a row and did the ribbon-cutting ceremony, customer entry finally began.
The line, which had started forming the evening before, was already long. The first customer was a man in his early 30s who came up from Busan, saying he couldn’t forget the taste of M Pizza he had experienced during his studies abroad and took the KTX to come.
With the influx of customers, the conveyor belts and robots in the kitchen were working non-stop, churning out pizzas.
The line was so long that it would take more than 5 hours to wait to eat in the store. Some people eventually gave up and just got takeout, while others booked rooms at the Ceylon Hotel and ordered room service.
CEO Im Soo-mi personally toured the store, checking customer reactions and if there were any inconveniences with the service.
We took a seat and ate pizza and drank wine.
Wine glasses clinked lightly.
Ellie said.
“There are a lot more customers than I expected.”
Hyun-joo noona nodded.
“It’s not just the taste, but the image of being an innovative pizza born in Silicon Valley has really hit the mark.”
Compared to existing pizzas, the price isn’t significantly different, but since people can experience greater taste and image, they are willingly opening their wallets.
I ate my pizza and watched the robotic arms and conveyor belts moving in the open kitchen. They moved accurately without an inch of error, spreading sauce on the dough, putting it in and taking it out of the oven.
Other customers also looked at the kitchen with amazed expressions and took pictures enthusiastically. Today, there will be a lot of photos with the M Pizza hashtag on social media.
Someday, when robots making pizza becomes commonplace, won’t people start looking for pizza made by humans?
