Chapter 583: Taking Another City

“Sir, Madam, good morning.”

Gray saw Qi Sheng and Jin Ying coming down the stairs and bowed slightly in greeting.

“Good morning.”

Qi Sheng looked at the two styles of breakfast that had been prepared and tried the English one.

It was mainly bacon, fried eggs, and fried sausages and mushrooms. ‘It’s acceptable enough,’ he thought.

“Honey, do you have any plans for later?”

“I have a meeting with Misha’s acquisition team later. Do you need me to give you a ride?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll drive myself to the club later.”

Jin Ying asked curiously, “Misha’s acquisition team is in London?”

“London is one of Europe’s economic centers, after all, and London Fashion Week is one of the four major European fashion weeks. Its influence is considerable, so of course Misha wouldn’t overlook it.”

Qi Sheng paused, then asked with a smile, “My trip to the United Kingdom isn’t just to acquire Arsenal. Misha is also going to acquire a local luxury brand. Can you guess which one?”

“Burberry?”

Jin Ying said without a second thought.

“Correct.”

Qi Sheng nodded with a smile. It was indeed an easy guess.

Compared to Italy, the United Kingdom has pitifully few luxury brands.

Besides Burberry, there was hardly anything else to prop up the United Kingdom’s luxury brand reputation.

The other brands couldn’t even compete with the ones from Italy.

“But isn’t Burberry’s market capitalization quite high?”

Jin Ying had no doubt about the capabilities of Qi Sheng’s negotiation team.

But Misha had already taken on tens of billions of US dollars in debt from its previous acquisition of the Richemont Group.

Just paying off the interest was a huge strain. Where would they get the money to acquire Burberry?

“I’ll personally contribute one billion US dollars. The rest of the acquisition funds will be temporarily diverted from Misha’s accounts.”

Qi Sheng wiped his mouth. “You finish up. I’m heading to the office.”

“Mwah! Work hard, honey~”

Jin Ying wrapped her arms around Qi Sheng’s neck, tilted her face up, and gave him a sweet kiss.

She then jogged over to the floor-to-ceiling window and watched as her boyfriend left the villa, escorted by his bodyguards.

With Qi Sheng gone, Jin Ying quickened her pace and finished her meal.

After breakfast, Jin Ying went back to her room to change.

Her demeanor became cool and aloof, with none of the demure, girly air she had in front of Qi Sheng.

Although Qi Sheng didn’t seem to care much about Arsenal, Jin Ying wanted to achieve something significant to prove herself.

‘In terms of beauty alone, the other women around Qi Sheng aren’t that far behind me.’

‘Only by demonstrating outstanding ability can I stand out from all the other “sisters.”‘

…

「Park Lane, Four Seasons Hotel.」

Seeing the convoy of Range Rovers and a Rolls-Royce Phantom come to a stop,

The hotel’s general manager, He Yongcong, hurried forward to open the car door.

“Chairman, President Shen and the others have already arrived in the conference room.”

He Yongcong fell half a step behind Qi Sheng, reporting at a steady, unhurried pace.

“Then let’s go straight to the conference room.”

Qi Sheng nodded slightly and followed He Yongcong to the hotel’s conference room.

“Hello, Boss.”

Seeing Qi Sheng, Shen Wan and the others all rose to their feet and bowed respectfully.

“Sit, don’t be so serious.”

Qi Sheng sat at the head of the table and waved his hand with a smile.

He Yongcong tactfully closed the conference room door and stood guard outside, ready to attend to Qi Sheng’s needs at any moment.

“I’ve called you all here today mainly to ensure the smooth takeover of Burberry, this century-old British luxury brand.”

“President Shen, are Misha’s funds ready?”

Qi Sheng’s smile vanished as he got straight to the point.

“Thanks to the sales growth of all brands in the last quarter, our cash flow is currently quite healthy.”

“We can free up five billion US dollars on short notice. Adding your personal one billion US dollars, we have more than enough to acquire Burberry.”

As Shen Wan replied, his voice held a trace of excitement.

First, the acquisition of Prada and Tiffany, then the merger with Richemont.

And now, they were about to swallow Burberry.

Before Shen Wan’s very eyes, Misha was growing day by day into a luxury goods behemoth.

“We have Burberry’s creative director, Mr. Tisi, to thank. If he hadn’t been so hell-bent on self-destruction, Burberry’s market value wouldn’t have dropped this low.”

Thinking of Burberry’s new creative director, Qi Sheng couldn’t help but sigh. ‘Incompetent teammates are truly a pain to deal with.’

Under its former creative director, Christopher Bailey, Burberry had even gained the confidence to compete with an old-school top luxury brand like LV.

But the principle of being too successful for your own good, threatening your superiors, still applies abroad.

In the end, Christopher Bailey walked away coolly with a severance package of ten million British Pounds.

In his place came a new director who was utterly abstract.

He had just taken office and immediately changed Burberry’s century-old logo.

From a valiant knight to a “tacky plaster” print.

Under the leadership of this “Abstract Bro,” Burberry’s individual pieces became a laughingstock, mocked and ridiculed by netizens.

The “Dewlap” dress and the three-headed plaid shirt were some of this Abstract Bro’s signature works.

The year before, Burberry’s quarterly sales were still 500 million British Pounds.

This year, quarterly sales plummeted to 300 million British Pounds.

If it weren’t for this guy’s “help,” Misha would never have had the chance to get its hands on Burberry.

Typically, the acquisition price for a luxury brand is four times its sales revenue.

But the final transaction price depends on the negotiation tactics of the buyer and seller.

It could be 3.5 times, or it could be 4.5 times.

The system’s valuation of Burberry’s market capitalization…

…was only 4.8 billion British Pounds, or 6 billion US Dollars.

This price was a massive drop compared to Burberry’s peak market value.

How could Qi Sheng possibly miss such a golden opportunity?

…

With the system pulling the strings, Misha completed its acquisition of Burberry with remarkable ease.

Burberry’s market value had been declining for years anyway.

For the original shareholders, it wasn’t exactly an indispensable, high-quality asset.

Misha’s acquisition of the United Kingdom’s century-old flagship luxury brand once again caused quite a stir in the fashion world.

Although Burberry’s momentum had clearly declined in recent years…

…a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Besides, it was the pride of the entire British population.

Ultimately, Burberry’s miserable performance was due to the disadvantage of going it alone.

But under the Misha umbrella, things would be completely different.

As one of the three giants in the luxury industry,

Misha possessed fashion resources and a talent pool that many other brands coveted.

After being acquired by Misha, Burberry, like Prada, Chloé, and other brands, could enjoy the group’s preferential allocation of resources.

Just by relying on its trench coats and scarves, Burberry could rest on its laurels for a lifetime.

But Qi Sheng hadn’t bought Burberry just to be so short-sighted.

It wouldn’t be in Qi Sheng’s character not to squeeze every last drop of potential out of Burberry.

…

Burberry’s headquarters was located in a prime spot in the Westminster District.

It was originally a government office building, seven stories high, covering an area of 15,000 square meters.

The decor was very similar to Burberry’s boutiques, all part of the precious legacy left by the former creative director, Bailey.

But to the new creative director, Tisi, it was an eyesore no matter how he looked at it.

As a successor, even though he had struggled to win the board’s approval,

he still couldn’t replace the long list of glorious achievements his predecessor, Christopher Bailey, had left at Burberry.

Just like this office building, which could be called Burberry’s most valuable fixed asset.

But when Tisi arrived at the company today, he clearly sensed that many employees were looking at him strangely.

‘With disdain and mockery, and even a hint of schadenfreude?’

Although Tisi hated these kinds of looks, he pretended not to see them and walked straight to his office.

“Mr. Tisi, the BOSS wants you to go to his office to report on your work.”

Just as he reached the seventh floor, the former CEO’s secretary, Rebecca Catherine, came walking toward him, swaying her full hips, a trace of contempt in her eyes.

Working in the same company, Tisi’s arrogance and conceit had long since rubbed many people the wrong way.

However, Tisi had done a decent job at Givenchy before, and he had been poached and entrusted with great responsibility by the board.

Even if they couldn’t stand Tisi, it didn’t affect him in the slightest.

But with the new boss’s arrival, everything was different.

A new king means a new court.

Tisi may have had the trust of the previous board, but that didn’t mean he would gain the new boss’s approval.

…

Following Catherine, Tisi arrived at the door of the chairman’s office.

For no particular reason, Tisi had a bad feeling.

“Come in.”

Tisi walked into the office and froze for a moment.

From his professional aesthetic point of view, his new boss was the perfect model for many of his designs.

‘In my opinion,’ he thought, ‘the ridicule from the outside world is just the clamoring of a bunch of people who don’t understand fashion at all.’

‘Just give me time, and sooner or later, I’ll lead this old luxury brand, Burberry, to glory!’

“BOSS.”

Tisi didn’t want to lose his current job, so his only option was to find a way to please his new boss.

“I’ve seen your design work. To put it bluntly, it’s a pile of shit.”

Qi Sheng’s blunt criticism left Tisi dumbfounded.

“Mr. Tisi, I called you here simply to inform you that Burberry is terminating your contract.”

“As of now, you are no longer the creative director of Burberry.”

After he finished speaking, Qi Sheng waved his hand at Catherine.

“Mr. Tisi, this way, please.”

Catherine looked at the crestfallen Tisi, feeling absolutely ecstatic inside.

This haughty bastard had finally gotten his just deserts.

The reason Catherine had joined Burberry was because she loved this national brand that made all British people proud.

But it was this Italian, who didn’t understand Burberry at all, who had dragged their pride into the gutter.

As for the severance pay, it was a mere one million British Pounds.

Compared to the ten million British Pounds the former creative director, Bailey, had received, it was a world of difference.

Who could he blame? Tisi’s ability was inferior to Bailey’s, so of course the Burberry board wouldn’t give him the same treatment.

As for Burberry’s new creative director, Qi Sheng had invited Bailey back.

Bailey hadn’t planned on returning to Burberry, but Qi Sheng simply offered too much.

An annual salary of ten million British Pounds made Bailey happily sign the contract, becoming Burberry’s new creative director.

And after the contract was signed, Qi Sheng decisively used a Master-level Talent Recruitment Card.

He converted Bailey into an employee who was completely loyal to him.

Barring any accidents, Bailey would now work for him for the rest of his life.

When the news of Bailey’s return to Burberry spread, store sales in the United Kingdom region increased by 10%.

As for the choice of Burberry’s new CEO,

Qi Sheng didn’t interfere much, leaving it for Shen Wan to arrange.

With the acquisition of Burberry, Misha’s sales figures would soar once again.

The procedures for going public were also being processed in an orderly manner.

Misha would be dual-listed on the Pan-European Exchange and the Swiss Exchange, floating 10% of its shares on each market.

Investors who were optimistic that Misha would replace the LVMH Group were already rubbing their hands in anticipation.

After all, Misha’s major moves were too frequent, completing multiple acquisitions worth tens of billions of US dollars in just a few short months.

The Burberry merger even left many of Misha’s supporters a little disappointed.

To think they had actually thought Misha would suddenly acquire the Kering Group.

But with Misha’s momentum, swallowing the Kering Group

and replacing the LVMH Group, was only a matter of time.