In 1881, inside St.
Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, admiring the reliefs and the oil paintings hanging on the walls, Oliver (now Ferdinand) felt a sense of disorientation once again.
He repeatedly compared the current St.
Stephen’s Cathedral with the one a century later to see the differences.
Just three months ago, the original Ferdinand had suddenly fainted inside St.
Stephen’s Cathedral, and Oliver had taken over his body.
Ferdinand was born on February 26, 1861, into the House of Koháry.
His full name was: Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria.
His father was Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his mother was Princess Clementine of Orléans.
His godparents were Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Belgium.
Ferdinand was the grand-nephew of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the first King of Belgium, Leopold.
His mother, Princess Clementine, was the daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France.
His father, Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the younger brother of King Fernando II of Portugal, and also a first cousin of Prince Albert, the Empress of Mexico (Princess Charlotte of Belgium), and King Leopold II of Belgium, as well as a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Among them, because Princess Louise, the mother of Charlotte and Leopold II, was the older sister of Ferdinand’s mother, the three of them were not only uncle/aunt and niece/nephew but also first cousins.
Honestly, Oliver (Ferdinand) was quite satisfied with this transmigration; his birth was noble enough.
If nothing went wrong, he would still be the future King of Bulgaria.
As a loser who ran a Taobao shop—barely a businessman—and a part-time military and history enthusiast, thinking about the original owner’s historical actions, Oliver (Ferdinand) felt immense pressure.
Ferdinand achieved great success in his first twenty years of ruling Bulgaria, but with the failure of the Second Balkan War and being forced into the World War, everything vanished into smoke.
As a transmigrator, he should seemingly defy fate, beat the whole world, and dominate the universe.
Oliver (Ferdinand) didn’t think that much.
Anyone with a basic understanding of Bulgaria knew that it was a small country in the Balkans, which at best could fight well.
It had no industry, no resources, and no population—a typical “three-nothing” country.
If he had transmigrated as Wilhelm II, he might have tried to defy fate and explode with power; he might have really been able to beat the whole world.
Just after transmigrating, Oliver (hereafter referred to as Ferdinand) set his goal to at least become a wealthy aristocrat, but then felt that was too passive.
Now, he had raised his expectations slightly: hold onto the throne.
It seemed that as long as he didn’t pick the wrong side, it wouldn’t be too difficult.
However, anyone who understands the Balkans knows that unless he wins two Balkan Wars, the surging nationalism within the country will still push Bulgaria into the abyss.
When poor, cultivate virtue for oneself; when successful, benefit the world!
Right now, Ferdinand was not yet the King of Bulgaria; he was just a minor officer in the local defense forces of Austria-Hungary.
As an aristocrat, he just needed to report for duty every day—oh, and it didn’t matter if he didn’t go.
From this aspect, one could see that Austria-Hungary was already corrupt, but this just happened to make things convenient for Oliver.
After more than three months of familiarization, Ferdinand had gained a preliminary understanding of the situation.
The House of Koháry was still very wealthy and had a bunch of illustrious relatives.
However, the greatest wealth was still the land, possessing large territories in Abrah and Sitno within Slovakia.
It looked pretty good at the moment, but Ferdinand knew that these real estate assets would shrink significantly after World War I and be confiscated by the Soviet Republic.
It seemed he should do something to leave himself a backup plan.
Anyway, as long as he had plenty of money in his hands, he could live very comfortably in the future regardless of what happened.
What exactly should he do?
The first thing that came to mind was “arms,” but it was immediately ruled out.
The arms trade was mostly intertwined with politics, and there were only so many capable buyers in the international market; large-scale arms trade had long been carved up.
Did he want to deal in small-time trades of a hundred or eighty guns?
That would be too shameful for an aristocrat, and the money earned wouldn’t even be more than his pocket money.
“Drugs”—immediately ruled out again.
He was a person who wanted to be a king.
If he got involved with drug dealers and was labeled a “drug king,” the scene was too terrifying to imagine.
Walking on the streets of Vienna, Ferdinand ruled out one money-making plan after another, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck: “Department store supermarket.”
In fact, department stores were born in Paris, France, as early as 1852 and spread rapidly across the world.
Vienna also had department stores, but they were not like the supermarkets of later generations; they were not that convenient.
It wouldn’t be until 1930 that such a store opened in New York, USA, where customers could walk in and pick goods from the shelves at will and check out uniformly at the door.
This was the first supermarket in the world.
History had already proven the superiority of supermarkets; their competition with department stores was not very intense.
1.
Different positioning: Department stores mainly deal in durable goods, with mid-to-high-end products.
Supermarkets mainly deal in fast-moving consumer goods and daily necessities, with mid-to-low-end products.
2.
Different profit models: Department stores seek efficiency from management, i.e., mainly obtaining profits through leasing space; while supermarkets seek efficiency from procurement, obtaining profits by increasing sales volume.
3.
Different sales methods: Department stores rely on sales assistants, using professional guidance to drive consumption, with separate checkouts.
Supermarkets rely on self-selection by customers, generally adopting “non-intrusive service” unless needed, and adopting a centralized one-time payment method at checkout.
After a calm analysis, Ferdinand believed that based on the economic situation in Vienna at the time, it was sufficient to make a supermarket profitable.
Saying it and doing it, Ferdinand immediately began market research.
After all, the time was different from the present; there wasn’t as wide a variety of goods, nor was there such a thing as home delivery.
He had to decide for himself what goods were suitable for a supermarket.
Regardless, in that era, he was the most professional talent in this regard.
At least he had seen a supermarket, while others didn’t even have an impression of one.
Many things had to be done by himself.
Leaving early and returning late every day, after working hard for more than a month, Ferdinand finally figured out the basic situation of the international metropolis of Vienna and harvested a thick notebook.
“This can also be considered historical data!
If people want to study the situation in Vienna during this era in the future, this is the best evidence.
It covers all aspects of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and most importantly, it even has annotations!
It can be placed in a museum for future generations to admire!” Ferdinand lay on the bed thinking beautifully.
With a “bang,” the door was kicked open.
“Ferdinand, what kind of mischief have you been up to lately?
What have you been running off to do every day?
You can’t be seen at aristocratic banquets, and you don’t even go to report to the City Guard!” The person who came in was Ferdinand’s mother, Princess Clementine.
“No, Clementine, my dear mother, you know aristocratic etiquette!
Kicking the door open without knocking is immoral and will affect your reputation!”
“To hell with aristocratic etiquette!
Don’t try to change the subject with me.
You should know that no one will know about this—or are you going to go around telling people?” Princess Clementine said.