Chapter 856 - 20: Puma’s Concession and Ma’el’s Proposal! Isabella’s Unusual Behavior, Bell’s Debut!

"How have you been lately?"

Upon entering, Ma’el saw Alto hastily rise from his seat, approach with a fawning smile, saying, "Haven’t seen you in a while, feels almost unfamiliar now."

As his influence and fame grew, so did his wealth and power of speech.

He had a clear feeling that some old friends had significantly changed their attitudes towards him.

Alto was one of them, especially after not meeting for a long time, this change became greater and more evident.

"Steady progress." Ma’el smiled slightly, sitting across from Alto, "As long as the team is still winning, everything is pretty good."

"Arsenal has indeed been playing well lately, I’ve been keeping an eye on them."

Alto walked over to the water dispenser, turned back and smiled, "I remember you always drink tea when you come here, must be the same this time, right?"

"Yes." Ma’el nodded, casually steering the topic back on track, "Mr. Mendes left after discussing the contract, so it’s just me signing today."

"I know." Alto replied, soon walked over with a cup of tea.

After the two sat across from each other, Alto chuckled dryly, and then his expression shifted to delight as he thought of something, "Mr. Ma’el, the sales of the sneakers continue to rise, this is good news for any of us.

"We originally estimated that after the initial surge, sales would gradually decrease and then stabilize.

"We didn’t expect that even though there may be fluctuations occasionally, in a longer timeframe, they would still show an upward trend overall."

"Of course it’s good news." Ma’el nodded, glancing at Alto, sensing he had something he couldn’t quite say.

Alto hesitated for a while, eventually intertwining his hands with a slight nervousness, saying, "Actually, speaking of this, there’s another aspect I want to confirm: will you and your girlfriend’s personal brand develop sneakers?

"I talked with Mr. Mendes about this, but he said he wasn’t sure about your opinion, so he asked me to discuss it with you."

This was one of his main concerns. If Ma’el’s brand develops clothing and some other minor categories, it wouldn’t actually affect a large international brand like Puma.

No matter how fast their development is, they won’t become Puma’s main competitor for at least decades.

But sneakers are different. If they choose to quickly launch sneakers, Puma’s ’lm7 co-branded sneakers’ will certainly be impacted, and might even exit the mainstream view.

This is a bit heartbreaking because lm7’s most important role is not about how much profit it makes, but about firing the first shot to seize market share from Nike and Adi.

After listening, Ma’el understood Alto’s point, he smiled gently and confirmed, "I can clearly say that in the short term, we won’t develop them.

"I know lm7 is in its growth phase, and if we get greedy and develop a new model now, not only might the new brand fail to operate, but lm7 might also become mediocre."

This is very likely. Since football consumers have already accepted a co-branded sneaker related to him, there’s no need to develop a new one.

The important thing is to deepen consumers’ impression of lm7 and ensure its sales; not to overwhelm them with new things, causing them a certain degree of fatigue.

If consumers feel fatigued, everything will backfire.

"To be honest."

Alto’s expression finally showed a bit of excitement, "I’m very glad you think this way, I increasingly feel our collaboration will become a legendary partnership."

Although this was just a verbal promise, it depends on who made it.

Someone like Ma’el is naturally trustworthy because he is valuable himself, and he doesn’t need a small gain to affect his reputation and credibility.

"Phew..."

Alto let out a long breath, then smiled, saying, "At the end of last month, UEFA’s best was a top-tier bonus in the prize contract, and ￡2 million has already been credited. Did you check it out?"

"Of course." Ma’el nodded, smiled apologetically, "Actually, I saw the congratulatory message from Mr. Alto at the time, but I was too busy and didn’t reply, then I forgot afterward."

"No problem."

Alto waved his hand, indicating it’s fine, paused for a moment then said, "With this, plus the accumulation from the European Cup, and Community Shield Cup prizes, your cumulative bonuses this season are at ￡7 million.

"This is simply incredible, considering this season has just started for a little over a month.

"A ￡7 million base bonus will trigger the highest tier additional bonuses in the clause, which is 80% for every ￡1 million... gosh, earning money seems like a game to you."

Ma’el lowered his head and smiled, "Puma is also generous, giving prizes like it’s a game.

"At the beginning of this season, I told Mr. Mendes that next season, I’ll make Puma pay me ￡20 million per season, and now it seems I’m very close."

"Just a few million short, indeed very soon." Alto reflected deep admiration in his eyes. He has some share options from Puma’s subsidiary but never such income.

But he wasn’t jealous, in his industry, he can be counted as top elite, while in Ma’el’s industry, Ma’el counts as the pinnacle.

The two didn’t speak further, Alto timely took out a contract, and after they silently smiled and shook hands, officially signed a new non-compete agreement.

"Pleasant cooperation."

"Pleasant cooperation!"

When Ma’el stood up, shaking hands with Alto, a satisfying feeling arose in his heart, coupled with a slight guilt for making Alto feel a little underserved.