Early morning, Red Umbrella Bookstore on Vic Street in Atlanta.
"Waiter, do you have "The King of Fury"? The one by Lucky Andre."
"No."
"Shit, what kind of rubbish bookstore is this?"
"Hey, boy! Can you give me a copy of King of Wrath?"
"Sorry, this comic is not available here."
"Well, let me tell you, no wonder it's so deserted here. So I still have to queue up. Hell, there are already hundreds of people waiting over there."
At this time, Kadir, the owner of the Red Umbrella Bookstore, had turned pale. His clerk, Lori, couldn't help but glance at him sideways.
"Boss, the people in front of the Wind Chime Bookstore have already lined up at the end of the alley. They got a total of two hundred copies today, but I don't think I can last long-"
"I know, I know!"
Kadir snorted, his eyes wandering: "It's nothing, just a popular comic, with a turnover of more than 2,000 gold shields."
"The problem is, our sales have dropped by 30% in the past two days."
Lori lowered his head and dusted the non-existent dust on the bookshelf with a feather: "Those customers have no patience at all. They heard that they can't buy "The King of Fury" and they don't want to browse in the store."
Kadir's breathing began to become heavier.
"It's more than just a boss."
This is another young female store clerk: "They also do bundle sales. You have to buy other things in their store to buy this comic."
"Shit!"
Kadir cursed: "Is this illegal? Will Rising Sun Publishing House accept it?"
The female clerk spread her hands: "It is said that I was severely warned by the publisher and even appeared on the TV news. Just last night, didn't you watch it? But people still do whatever they want, but they are not so rampant.
Yes, the only items sold together are the stationery and handicrafts sold by their bookstore. There is no way, there are only more than 300 King of Wrath War sellers in Atlanta."
"But there are at least two thousand bookstores in Atlanta, and there are many newsstands-"
Kadir grumbled dissatisfied: "Don't they sell the goods in other bookstores? I promise to be honest and honest."
"But boss, we have an agreement with Ferguson Media Group."
"What a bloody deal!"
Kadir walked to the counter and picked up the phone: "What's the phone number of Rising Sun Publishing House? The sales manager's name seems to be Delari, right?"
"It's in the second drawer under the desk."
The clerk Lori couldn't help being surprised: "Are you going to Rising Sun Publishing House to purchase goods now? But the boss only has a turnover of two thousand gold shields."
"Asshole, do you think I can't count? It's more than 2,000 in a few days, and this comic is more than just one volume."
The corners of Kadir's lips twitched, and he just saw the drawer below: "Ferguson's profit margin is quite large, and there is also a sales commission. But the newspapers and publications they currently operate cannot be sold in stores."
"So store manager, do you know what to say?"
"What should I say? Of course I know it's either/or this time."
However, I called this number several times but the line was busy. It was already past three o'clock in the afternoon when I dialed.
"Manager Kadir? Is this the Red Umbrella Bookstore?"
The voice over there clearly sounded a bit alienated: "Mr. Store Manager, our printing factory is currently operating at full capacity. I'm afraid we won't be able to allocate more supplies to you."
"Damn it! Delary, put away your nonsense, I know you have the goods over there. Our bookstore will end the cooperation with Ferguson Media Group, okay?"
"I'm sorry, I can't understand you?"
"What I mean is that we will move all of Ferguson Media's publications into the corner of the bookstore."
"Store Manager Kadir, we do not agree with this kind of behavior that will hurt our friends."
The sales manager named Delary obviously added some enthusiasm in his tone: "But since you are so sincere, store manager, I can allocate thirty copies to you. But before that, we will have a
Is it okay for a salesperson to come to your store to check out the environment?"
“So what if we no longer sell Ferguson Media publications?”
The Kadir store manager's eyes shimmered: "We will also put the Atlanta Labor Daily and the Georgia Post in the first row."
"And the Atlanta Daily Telegraph."
The voice on the phone was already full of appreciation: "100 copies, you can arrive at the store at five o'clock tomorrow morning. This is already the maximum amount I can give you within my scope of authority. If you want to add more, you have to find
My boss. Let’s do this. I’ll give you some more of Andre’s pictorials, you know that? They’ve been selling very well recently, and the girls like them very much. OK, that’s settled.”
"Why does it have to be tomorrow morning? Can't it be in the afternoon?"
The Kadir store manager complained and put down the phone, then glanced at his clerk Lori: "Notify Ferguson Media that they will either take all their own things back, or we will send them to the warehouse. Then make an announcement,
At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, the bookstore will have 300 copies of "The King of Fury" and 200 Andre's pictorials for sale. Lori, do we want to do a tie-in sale too?"
"Wow, store manager, don't you hate that lucky Andre?"
"I still hate it, I hate it so much."
Store manager Kadir bared his teeth: "So I decided to make back all the money I lost from him."
※※※※
In the Ferguson News Building, a conference room on the 32nd floor was in a miserable state. Everyone present in the meeting had condensed expressions and low breaths.
"Our cable room is still unrepairable? What did Noah say? Twelve days? The repair cost is 15 million gold shields, right? Let them eat shit! Who else will come after twelve days?
Are you watching our TV station? Tell them that 15 million gold shields is fine, but the time must be shortened to within 10 days, and this requirement must be written into the contract."
"Adler, negotiate with several TV stations in Atlanta as soon as possible to see if you can borrow their equipment. You can accept it at any price, as long as it can survive these ten days."
"Ride, how are the loan negotiations with Georgia People's Bank going? They rejected it? Why? There is no doubt about Ferguson Media's ability to repay the loan!"
"Trash! They are all trash! How come my men are all a bunch of idiots?"
"Tell Rasha that the money we owe will be given to him, but not now. Ask him if he still wants to cooperate with our TV station? If his program still wants to appear on Ferguson Cable TV, then please shut up.
"
Sitting in the chairman's seat, Mandyvin Ferguson was like an out-of-control tyrant, venting his anger to his subordinates wantonly.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the conference room, and then a female staff member walked in with a pale face, holding a folder in her hand.
Mandivian Ferguson couldn't help but glance at this person: "Who are you? From the sales department? Don't you know we are in a meeting?"
"Chairman, something new has happened now, and I think I must report it to you."
The female staff member was obviously frightened: "Just within an hour and a half of your meeting just now, another 124 bookstores asked us to take back all the publications we had sold on consignment."
Mandyvin Ferguson's aura suddenly became colder, but this time he did not curse, but frowned: "It's because of "The King of Wrath" again, the sales are still very hot, right?"
"Yes, Chairman."
This is the sales director sitting here in a meeting. This person's expression is particularly bitter: "According to the information we have, the 90,000 copies released by Rising Sun Publishing House in Atlanta were sold out at 9:25 in the morning.
Most bookstores only open at nine o'clock. And now the major TV stations and media are all discussing about King of Fury and Andre. This is probably a phenomenal book, no! It is a palace-level book.
comics, it has become the most advantageous weapon in the hands of Rising Sun Publishing House."