African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 160: Chapter 149 In France

Before coming to Paris this time, Tom did his homework and practiced for quite a while.

In fact, Tom’s way of speaking is very clumsy; if he encounters those old foxes, it will definitely have no effect.

However, the purpose of Tom’s trip is still Little Alfonso XII. The communication between adults can still facilitate these young and vigorous individuals.

And Shao Er just brought Little Alfonso from Spain to Paris, and it’s impossible to say there isn’t some trepidation in her heart; it’s just that in Paris, there’s no fear of being pushed to the guillotine by the angry Spanish people.

After all, the United States is currently in a state of being despised in Europe, and countries are sure to blame Americans for some non-existent matters.

...

While Tom was heading to Paris, Ernst himself was not idle; he was now inspecting the development of enterprises in Marseille, France.

Although Ernst was also in France, it was completely unnecessary for him to speak directly with the Spanish royal family.

Being able to send a representative is already quite prominent in various governments, except for the French and Spanish exiles; there is hardly any major force concerned about the fate of the Spanish royal family, let alone providing support.

Although the money sent by the Heixinggen was not much, it was definitely unique. More people wanted to make a fortune from Shao Er since she was a lavish person who took away many valuable items from the Spanish palace when she escaped.

With the influence of the Bourbon family in France, many people could claim under the banner of restoration to receive a salary from the mother and son.

After all, Shao Er herself claimed externally that she was still the Queen of Spain. To this end, she even attempted to contact political enemies from the Carlos faction, even willing to offer them financial aid. Although Carlos refused, it shows that Shao Er’s funds were still quite abundant.

Marseille, as France’s second-largest city after Paris, is extremely prosperous in commerce; the Heixinggen Consortium has also established a branch here to manage its business in France.

In the business market of the Heixinggen Consortium, Germany and the Austria-Hungary Empire are equally important as the top tier, while the French market and Eastern Europe are in the second tier.

Although Eastern Europe has a large population, its purchasing power does not match that of today’s France, and the French know how to enjoy life more, so France is an important customer of the Heixinggen Consortium.

The Austrian-Hungarian Empire factories are linked to the French market, leveraging the convenience of the Mediterranean route, mainly handling the business west of Trieste in the Mediterranean.

Factories in the German region mainly expand into Eastern Europe, which is the business of Tsarist Russia.

As for the Ottoman and Middle East markets, Ernst is currently trying to expand business centered on East Africa towards the Middle East.

Of course, East Africa does not currently meet the conditions, especially businesses around the Mediterranean such as the Ottoman and North Africa, which are still handled by factories within the Austrian-Hungary Empire.

Marseille indeed stands out among European cities, especially in this era, as a definite international metropolis, even Napoleon III built a palace here.

Ernst arrived in Marseille by ship from the Austrian-Hungary Empire, landing at the port of Marseille with a large group of bodyguards and staff.

This trip to France, with Marseille merely as a starting point, Ernst seeks to re-establish connections between the Heixinggen monarchy and its former alliances within France.

Finally concluding this trip in Paris, he plans to transfer by train back to Heixinggen.

”Your Highness, the hotel for your stay tonight has been arranged. You must be tired from the journey; I’m wondering if you would like to rest first,” Carl, the head of the Heixinggen Consortium’s Marseille office, respectfully suggested.

”Hm, there’s no need. Let’s go to the company first and check this year’s operations of the French division. I’m quite energetic right now,” said Ernst.

”Alright, Your Highness, but please wait a moment—there are quite a few people you brought this time, and the carriages are not yet ready. Please forgive us!” Carl said.

”Of course, no problem, go ahead and make the arrangements!” Ernst replied.

It was to be expected—Ernst brought seventy to eighty bodyguards along with a heap of professionals. This wasn’t clarified in advance with the staff in Marseille.

Honestly, with so many people gathered, anyone unaware might think some big shot was visiting Marseille.

The affluent and influential Ernst can’t afford to be reckless; he doesn’t have an indestructible body and isn’t immune to assassinations or other threats.

Although there are seemingly no enemies of Heixinggen on the surface, Ernst wouldn’t leave his fate to the realm of ”possibility.”

Ernst’s security team is absolutely first-class across Europe. For instance, on this trip, there are openly ten formal military personnel from the Heixinggen Royal Guard, all armed with guns—this was already communicated with the French government.

This is the benefit of being a German prince; although Heixinggen has become a part of Prussia, the treatment of European monarchs remains unchanged. As long as the Heixinggen royal family can afford the wages, the court guard can naturally be retained.

Beyond the royal guard is a suit-wearing security team, unofficial security personnel with the most significant number, consisting of fifty to sixty members.

Their uniforms are custom-tailored, making them appear to be elite individuals of this era when standing in place—these are the visible protectors around Ernst.

The remaining security personnel consist of a dozen plainclothes members, mainly responsible for detecting any suspicious individuals and danger around, preemptively eliminating threats.

Their range of activities is more extensive, covering an area within a hundred meters or so, and to blend into the crowd, they have specially dressed as French locals and foreign tourists this time.

...

Soon, the convoy arrived at the Heixinggen Consortium’s Marseille branch, where Ernst’s team of professionals began auditing accounts, performance, etc.

There were basically no major issues, and even minor discrepancies could be reconciled—Ernst was quite pleased with the results of this surprise inspection.

”Carl, you did a great job, keep up the good work. And to everyone present, you must not slack on your tasks.

France is a crucial market for our consortium. Remember, our service principle is that customers are our bread and butter. Only by ensuring customer satisfaction can our products and services better expand the market; the Heixinggen Consortium is founded on quality, aiming to make more people recognize the reliability of our products and services in the market.”

Currently, the German regions are not yet unified, and the supervision of goods survival is not in place. Moreover, Germany is undoubtedly a nation of counterfeits, its industrial reputation is just slightly better than that of America.

Therefore, when doing business, the Heixinggen Consortium is not particularly keen on associating with Germany; it’s mainly fields like electricity and energy propulsion, the high-tech industries, where their strength speaks for itself; labeling them as German products doesn’t matter since professionals know the best products to buy.

For ordinary goods, the Heixinggen Consortium focuses on differentiation, especially by introducing products tailored to various national conditions.

These, combined with their commercial outlets, enhance people’s perception of Heixinggen’s products and brand.

Of course, counterfeits are inevitable, with many small workshops in Europe able to replicate trademarks and enter the market the next day.

At this time, the commercial outlets of the Heixinggen Consortium come into play. Even if the products bought elsewhere might be fake, it cannot be confirmed, but all goods from Heixinggen’s commercial outlets are officially certified, sourced directly from Heixinggen Consortium factories, ensuring a seamless supply chain.

Products purchased from Heixinggen commercial outlets also include codes for anti-counterfeiting purposes.

There are essentially no counterfeits in the commercial outlets certified by the Heixinggen Consortium. To prevent some outlets from substituting inferior products and private profiteering, the consortium kindly provides customers the option to report, with irrefutable evidence allowing the customer to receive a hefty reward.

Therefore, nearly no one in charge at Heixinggen commercial outlets dares to engage in underhanded activities.

As long as the products are purchased through legal means, the Heixinggen Consortium also provides follow-up services, which is why the products have a good reputation on the market.

The consequence of this approach is the relatively slow expansion of Heixinggen’s commercial outlets due to the need to ensure consumer rights; many stores require their investment. However, since Heixinggen aims for long-term business, putting in more effort is worthwhile.

Moreover, Heixinggen Consortium’s product coverage is extensive, offering numerous exclusive products, while also allowing the selling of some items from other companies.

Simply put, it’s like a supermarket—currently, Heixinggen supermarkets only exist in slightly larger cities across Europe, with many locations still lacking.

Ernst fully learned from past experiences, making the current Heixinggen commercial outlets places where customers can directly interact with products, minimizing intermediate steps, and concluding with checkout at the counter.

To enhance consumer shopping interest, Ernst doesn’t mind placing other companies’ products on shelves as long as they meet Heixinggen Consortium standards.

Across Europe, these commercial outlets do not have a unified brand—instead, they are named according to local conditions in various countries. For example, in France, Heixinggen supermarkets are called Seine Riverfront Department Stores.

French people who don’t know the specifics think these supermarkets are opened by Parisians. After all, since Paris is the capital of France, products from Paris should not be too bad, so they go in to buy.

Of course, Germany and the Austria-Hungary Empire are exceptions; these two regions use the original Heixinggen name. In Ernst’s eyes, Germany and the Austria-Hungary Empire are one entity.

The bigger the city, the better the economy, and the larger the Heixinggen supermarket, offering more products and services. Leveraging Heixinggen Consortium’s unique supply channels, these supermarkets have been able to grow and thrive across Europe.

These supermarkets can be seen throughout the continent; after all, a Seine Riverfront Supermarket doesn’t just exist in France; they can be in Germany and Tsarist Russia too—any uninformed public assumes it’s a French brand, with the City of Romance inherently carrying brand appeal.

The Heixinggen Consortium has now begun entering the British market; soon, a batch of supermarkets will appear there as well.