It’s very similar to what happened here in Saint-Tropez.
At almost the same time, similar discussions with different opinions took place in the president's office of Pierre Cardon's headquarters next to the Elysée Palace in Paris, France.
The two people talking here are Pierre Cardin and his first assistant Takada Mei.
"Mr. Catton, I don't understand why you allow Ning to invest in Yves Saint Laurent?"
"why not?"
Pilka was reviewing several design drafts on the table and said without raising his head, "Didn't I also ask him to help me win LVMH shares?"
"That's different."
Takada Mei took away some documents on the table, which she had just sent for the master to sign, and they have been signed now.
"LVMH's main businesses are only bags, beauty, champagne, and cognac. Yves Saint Laurent is a fashion company like us, and their purpose of raising funds is to develop the ready-to-wear business and try to go public. I'm worried..."
"You are worried that Yves Saint Laurent's business overlaps with ours. With his help, he may be able to achieve his goal, and then quickly surpass us with huge funds..."
"Yes, don't you think so too? Ning is just helping the company's competitors, how could he do this?"
"What if?"
Pierre Cardon finished signing some important documents and finally looked up at Takada Mei, but his eyes were inexplicably calm.
"If I stop him, do you think he will listen to me and not invest?"
"I……"
Takada Mei hesitated for a moment, but still expressed her opinion, "I think he will. He respects you very much and is grateful to you. As long as you speak, there is a high probability that he will..."
But in the end, the master still shook his head.
"I think so too. Generally speaking, people are selfish. In this world, no matter how deep the love is, it does not mean knowing how to be grateful and repaying. Only very few people understand the preciousness of friendship. Ning
Just one of the few. But precisely because of this, I can't do it."
"Why?" Takada Mi really didn't understand.
"Because although he may agree, he must be reluctant. And I can't easily consume the favor that he is grateful to me for."
Although Pierre Cardon is old, his many years of business experience have not turned him into a cunning figure. His artist attributes still play an important role in his character.
He has always been a man of good character and upright conduct.
"If I do this, it will be equivalent to using moral coercion on him. That is too hypocritical. It goes against my principles as a person and is unfair to him. It will also make people laugh. You must know that Saint Laurent does not mind that he is
My man allows him to inject capital to become a shareholder of the company, so if I try to stop him, it would be too stingy."
"Why do you think so? He obviously betrayed you, I'm sorry to the company..."
This time, Pierre Cardin did not allow Takada Mei to express everything she wanted to say, but instead defended Ning Weimin's behavior.
"No, no, Takada, you are mistaken. Suddenly, Catherine Deneuve took the initiative to invite him to help. Ning bought the shares with his own money and gave them to his wife. Not only did he explain the situation to me in advance
, and also promised to only make purely financial investments, and voluntarily stated that he would never interfere in the management and operation of Saint Laurent. He even invited me to participate in this investment. Is this considered a betrayal?"
"But...but...this is always not good for the company..."
Takada Mei was a little hesitant, but after thinking about it, she said in a skeptical tone, "No matter what, he doesn't have the company's interests at heart. I think he is sorry that you think so highly of him..."
"Takada, I appreciate that you always put the company's interests first. This is why I have always trusted you for a long time. However, when you think about problems, you will always only discuss matters and deal with business matters, and it is easy to ignore one thing and another.
The relationship between things is somewhat regrettable.”
I didn't expect the master to have such an attitude, and Takada was somewhat sad.
"Isn't it better to just discuss the matter?"
"The fundamental connection between people is not only interests, but also feelings. Many things are not isolated relationships. Just like Ning, I personally selected him into the company and gave him the conditions to express himself freely.
, it can be said that a large part of his current wealth should be attributed to me. However, he has also done a lot for me. I have almost no control over Huaxia Company, but now that branch has almost monopolized the Republic's
I have entered the high-end ready-to-wear market and own my own building. This is an achievement that even I could not achieve in France, and I know very well that it is the credit of Song and Ning. Especially Ning, he also gave me an extra Yi
Lade Company, do you know how big the market is for easy-pull ties and trolley suitcases? So he and I have always had a relationship of mutual success. I have never regarded him as an ordinary subordinate.
But partners.”
"Partner!
"Takada Mei was really surprised, and even a little jealous. She didn't expect that the master thought so highly of Ning Weimin.
With her knowledge, she still cannot recognize the logic, nor can she accurately measure this relationship.
"Then if that's the case, shouldn't you stop him? Now he only has a small share of Pierre Cardon China, but he owns a large amount of Saint Laurent shares. This is much more than what he has in Pierre Cardon.
Benefits, if things go on like this, then..."
Speaking of this, Takada Mei once again showed a worried expression.
However, Picardon only smiled slightly after hearing her words, and the problems she was worried about did not put any pressure on the master.
"No, no, you are wrong again. Apart from stock dividends and some regular free clothing and beauty products, what else can Saint Laurent bring to Ning? With Pierre Bergé's personality, that's it.
It is absolutely impossible for him to let others touch the Yves Saint Laurent company he is in charge of and take away his power. In terms of personal relationships, he cannot allow Ning to have too frequent contact with Yves Saint Laurent himself. His trust in Ning
Although there is, it must be based on the sense of security created by the long distance between China and France, and it is the limited trust stipulated in the contract within the most basic shareholder rights framework."
"But I am different, and so is Pierre Cardon. We and Ning are truly our own people. My unreserved support and trust in him will not change. In fact, for people who want to do things like him, the financial benefits have already been
It’s not the most important thing. No constraints and all-round resource support are the most valuable. And these are exactly what we can provide him. So I am confident that I can maintain a continuous friendship with Ning that will never end.
.”
"Also, Pierre Cardin is too big now. We developed the ready-to-wear business earlier than Yves Saint Laurent. Our brand has already left Europe and spread all over the world. With our size, Yves Saint Laurent will care about us occupying the European market.
share, but we don’t need to pay too much attention to their actions. They won’t be able to catch up with us in five or ten years. Now, as Ning suggested, it’s time for us to make reductions, digest and solve the problem.”
"So, I have no reason to stop him. Besides, the world can accommodate more excellent fashion companies. Even if there is no Yves Saint Laurent, there is still Chanel, Gucci, and Givenchy. Do I prohibit him from investing every time?
.In fact, if I do this, the gain will outweigh the gain and seriously damage the emotional and trust foundation between me and him. If there is no trust and he feels that the favor has been repaid, then he will soon no longer miss Pierre.
It gets stuck and we choose to leave. If this happens, that will be our biggest loss."
"As for the number of shares, what does it matter? Am I not reasonable enough? Am I a stingy person? Do I like to treat my subordinates harshly? As long as his demands are reasonable and he proves that he is worthy, of course I can give more
The company's shares were transferred to him. The important thing is to ensure that this kind of thing will not cause turmoil in the company and will not attract malice from others. After all, everyone has jealousy. So I have to choose a good time, only the company
Only by maintaining internal stability can we all have a bright future."
The master's words once again made Takada Mei lose her calm.
She was overwhelmed by the hints in the master's words.
After all, she knows best that the master is getting older day by day and his energy is declining day by day.
The selection of a company's successor has become the biggest issue affecting the company's future development.
In fact, this matter has already begun in the mind of the master.
As far as she knew, the past three candidate lists did not fully satisfy the master.
So the master was very confused and in great pain.
But now, it seems that Ning Weimin's name is among these candidates.
Is this a clear preference?
Has the master already made a new choice?
Takada Mei's heart was beating wildly, and she was shocked by some of the thoughts unexpectedly revealed by the master.
She unexpectedly discovered that she seemed to have underestimated the importance Pierre Cardon attached to Ning Weimin.
She really wanted to ask what the master's plan was.
Does it look like he really wants Ning Weimin to be his successor?
What should the other veterans of the company do?
What should the master’s own relatives do?
What's more, there are so many branches all over the world.
Even Huaxia Company still has Song Huagui.
So she didn't dare to speak.
This issue is really too important. It affects the whole body and has a huge impact.
…………
Also in Paris, in the office of the general manager of the Saint Laurent headquarters of a fashion clothing company, there were two other people talking about Ning Weimin.
"You won't believe this..."
Catherine Deneuve walked in and said to Pierre Bergé behind the desk, "Miss Matsumoto's capital injection has been sent in advance. Starting tomorrow, you will complete the transfer procedures and get 100 million francs.
"
"So fast!" General Manager Pierre stood up happily to greet Catherine and hugged her cordially. "I have said before that it would be a pity for you to act in movies. With your talents, you should go into politics even if you don't go into business.
.”
"Okay, that's not what you said a few days ago. You should become an actor." Catherine teased Pierre with a smile.
Pierre laughed, "Haha, forget it, given my conditions, I can only act in comedy. Fortunately, I didn't take that road, God bless me."
Then he asked again, "Katherine, you're not here specifically to tell me the good news, are you? Is there anything else?"
Indeed, if it was just for this matter, Catherine wouldn't have to come at all, it would be solved with just one phone call.
As for Catherine, she expressed everything with rich expressions.
She took a step back and looked at Pierre with a sharp, smart, and somewhat gloomy look, "You guessed it right, I do have other things. Things that are not convenient to talk about on the phone."
Pierre was a little surprised, "What's going on? Catherine?"
He was still a little panicked, "I think you're a little scary now. Are you going to say something that will embarrass me? Do you also want to divest?"
"Me? Divest? Why do you think so?"
Catherine couldn't help but burst into laughter, finally failing to maintain the image of a conspirator she deliberately created. "Do you think I'm here for the 100 million francs you're about to get? Pierre, Pierre, I'm not a fool. I've worked hard.
I have found funds for everyone. Am I just selling my shares? What’s more, the rights of the new shareholders still need me to represent them. I am now considered a big shot on the board of directors, why should I withdraw? "
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."
Pierre secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "To tell you the truth, at such an important point, we are about to start expanding our business, and what we need most is money. I can't afford to have any more problems. Okay, please sit down,
Just tell me what's going on. As long as it's not something that requires funds to be withdrawn, it's easy for us to discuss it."
Catherine walked happily to the sofa where the guests were waiting, and sat down next to Pierre.
"I'm afraid I'm lying if I say that this matter doesn't embarrass you at all. But if you are willing to help and can do it, our friends will be very happy and will remember your favor."
"Who? What on earth are you talking about?" Pierre felt increasingly confused.
Fortunately, Catherine finally stopped talking. "It's Ning. You asked me secretly at the airport. I hope I can ask you for a favor in private. Their country is very closed, and it's not easy for girls to come to Paris to work in this industry."
.If possible, he hopes that you can use more Chinese models in Saint Laurent's future conferences. Of course, he knows what he promised, and he also knows that this is something that can only be decided by your general manager. So he just
I'm asking you for help, and he can understand if you refuse. How about it?"
Catherine was indeed a good lobbyist. Pierre originally thought that Ning Weimin was going to interfere with his work, so he frowned.
But after listening to all of Catherine's words, his mood returned to calm, and he just held his chin with a worried look.
"This is not good, really not good. Modeling will directly affect the level of performance. He is also engaged in the fashion industry, so he shouldn't not understand this..."
"I know what you said is right, and he knows it very well. So he just hopes to be inclined towards Hua Xia Gu Nian when the conditions of the model are comparable. Anyway, doesn't Yves hope that the image of the model can be more diverse?
