Free Web NovelChapter 229: Von The Creative Director
<🎧 Song Recommendation: Lost In the Moment by NF> ƒгeewebnovёl.com
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Rayan laughed again, shaking his head slowly as he set his glass down.
"Sabotage? Haha. I have no malice towards the boy. Honestly, the kid is wildly talented. He’s operating on levels way above that fucker Julian ever did."
Emily looked at him warily. "Then what do you want with him?"
Rayan smiled seeing her reception.
"It’s simple. I’ve observed his talent and I’d like to work with him. It’s a project that will be great for all of us. I’ll just need your help to bring him on board, nothing much."
Emily thought long about the offer before deciding to take a seat opposite him.
"I’m listening."
***
All eyes were on Von as he stood up.
None of the executives expected him to make a reasonable contribution. To them, he was just a kid who had gotten lucky in the music industry.
But because he was a shareholder, they were still willing to hear him out.
"Go on," Arthur indicated with a grumpy tone. He rubbed his temples, already exhausted from arguing with Gary.
"Okay, so I’m not in support of withholding the marketing budget," Von started.
"We could redirect it into something else, sure, but I don’t think there’s enough time for something meaningful. I mean, we want quick progress, don’t we?"
Von asked the question plainly, and all of the executives saw themselves slowly nodding their heads. He was right. The holiday season was fast approaching.
If they waited too long to make a move, the entire quarter would be a total waste.
"My suggestion is that we make the most use of that marketing budget," Von said. "I mean, we gats get the most value out of that five million."
Arthur was getting slightly annoyed. "That’s easier said than done, Mr. Varley. What exactly are you saying?"
Von shrugged him off and continued addressing them all at once.
"Let’s look at the numbers. How many sales were realized from the last quarter’s marketing budget?"
They all looked at each other in awkward silence. Finally, one of the executives checked his tablet and answered.
"The last quarter saw us get twelve million dollars in gross sales. That’s very underwhelming, we would usually have up to thirty million dollars at our peak."
"Ah, twelve million from a five million budget." Von caressed his chin. "That’s quite small indeed..."
"You’re going in circles, Mr. Varley," Gray was the first one to snap. He hated being lectured by a teenager. "We know the numbers are bad. Get to the point."
Von ignored him once again. "Well, let’s aim for fifty million. If you follow my route, it should be a piece of cake to achieve that."
"Fifty million?" Arthur challenged Von’s ridiculous statement. "We weren’t achieving such numbers at our peak. What makes you confident we’ll do better now that we’re in shambles? And you think we can do it just from this route of yours?"
Von simply smiled at the CEO. "You haven’t figured it out yet? The marketing investment is me."
The room went quiet as they tried to process his words.
"I’ll use that five million to fund my tour," Von explained. "And we’ll get over fifty million in sales. Easy deal. Ain’t it?"
The boardroom went into chaos.
"Impossible!"
"The audacity!"
"How arrogant!"
Murmurs and angry shouts began to fly across the room. The executives thought he was completely out of his mind.
But the noise didn’t shake Von in the slightest. He didn’t care about their anger. He was only focused on the person he had to convince in the room, the CEO.
Currently, Arthur’s mind was going through a massive dilemma. He watched Von stand there with total confidence.
’Our peak quarter sales came right after we sponsored his music video,’ Arthur thought to himself. ’He might be serious.’
But then, Arthur was smart enough to have serious doubts.
’That music video sponsorship was just two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Investing five million on one person is a ridiculous gamble. It’s too risky. If his tour flops, we lose our entire holiday budget.’
Arthur cleared his throat loudly to calm the murmurs. The executives slowly quieted down.
"Von Varley is making a great point," Arthur said carefully. "But it won’t be fair if he doesn’t give us an assurance. What’s the bargain if you can’t achieve that much in sales?"
Von smiled at Arthur’s question. It meant his plan was ninety percent finalized. Arthur was already thinking about the deal.
"Of course I considered that, Arthur. It’s quite favorable to you," Von said smoothly. "If I don’t achieve at least fifty million dollars in sales revenue, I’ll revoke my three percent stake."
Everyone was frozen at his claim.
His stake was worth over fifteen million dollars. It was over three times the size of the marketing budget he was asking for.
The board wasn’t even expecting to get two times more profit even with that five million budget. This was a win-win by all means!
If Von succeeded, Vanguard was saved. If Von failed, the company got a massive chunk of its equity back for free.
Instantly, the mood in the room flipped. Everyone was practically begging for the deal to be sealed.
"Are you sure, Von?" Arthur asked. He was stunned by the massive gamble.
"What do you mean is he sure? The kid knows what he’s saying. Accept it, Arthur!"
One of the board members said that, and the rest continued pressuring Von, eager to lock him into the trap.
"Yes, this is a brilliant plan. The kid is confident!"
"Don’t go back, Von. We trust you!"
Von lightly tapped the table to get silence, and then he smiled seeing everyone quiet down so fast. It was funny how quickly their greed changed their attitudes.
"I’m sure, Arthur. I’ll even sign it today," Von said. "But before that, there’s one more thing."
They all looked at each other to hear his request, expecting him to say something outrageous. They were ready to agree to almost anything to get that three percent equity on the line.
Von simply smiled. "I’d like to be appointed as the creative director of a sub-label I’ll create. Then, I’ll get twenty-five percent of all profits generated by my lineup."
Everyone nodded their head at Von’s words. Having a sub-label and being a creative director wasn’t a big deal. Many brand ambassadors had their own lines. He was even entitled to such perks as a stakeholder.
But Arthur focused on the last part. Twenty-five percent was a far way off the industry standard. Usually, creative directors would negotiate for ten percent, but Von was being really greedy.
’It’s not like his sub-label will do well,’ Arthur thought to himself. ’He barely knows anything about fashion. It’s just a way for him to retain some power. I see. Smart move from him, but it won’t cost us much.’
Arthur didn’t know he was interpreting it exactly the way Von wanted him to. He simply smiled, feeling like he had won this one. He would gladly take advantage of Von to relinquish his massive stake.
"If this is all it takes, then consider it done, Von Varley," Arthur said. "As for the twenty-five percent, we’re not sure of that number. But we’ll negotiate with your lawyer for something that benefits us all. I’ll send all the terms and agreements for you to review, is that fine?"
"Yes, it’s perfect," Von simply smiled and sat back down. He trusted Zack to not lose that 25% he wanted.
He looked around the table, seeing nobody oppose him. He had taken advantage of their greed, but to their own benefit.
As for his sub-label, Von was very curious to see how his future knowledge would play out when it comes to designing clothes.
He knew the trends that were going to take over the world. He knew exactly what the youth wanted to wear. He was going to completely revolutionize the brand from the inside out.
"We’ll let you pick some staff to add to your new roster after the meeting," Arthur added politely after seeing Von sit back down.
"I appreciate that," Von replied.
And then the meeting continued as usual. The financial files were opened again, and the boring corporate talk resumed.
But this time, the energy was much higher. The executives were buzzing with excitement over the deal they had just made.
