1881 was a year of development, and the material lives of Vienna’s citizens became rich and colorful.
The highly imaginative Ferdinand also strayed further down the path of an unscrupulous merchant, with various schemes that left people overwhelmed.
Shuanghui Food Group’s products grew more numerous, such as a wide variety of noodles, numerous brands of biscuits, and various flavors of French fries.
Bakers also officially moved into the supermarkets, and various pastries made their grand debut, capturing the attention of Vienna’s citizens and greatly facilitating people’s lives.
Of course, it also lined Ferdinand’s pockets.
Volvo had already expanded across Austria-Hungary, leaving its footprint in every major city.
Naturally, along with the supermarkets, Shuanghui Food Group transformed from a shell company into a truly substantial entity, becoming one of the prominent large companies in Austria-Hungary’s food processing sector.
With Christmas approaching, Volvo became even busier.
Under Ferdinand’s prodding, Franz, in a daze, began the preparations for the Christmas activities.
Ferdinand couldn’t afford to relax; several supermarkets in Vienna were already undergoing renovations, with styles that were essentially copied from Volvo.
There were also those trying to be unconventional, but Ferdinand automatically ignored them.
Trying to innovate without knowing anything was a recipe for disaster and wouldn’t pose any threat at all.
One could imagine that a large number of supermarkets would surely sprout up in Vienna in 1882.
Ferdinand’s era of monopoly was coming to an end, and a period of intense competition was about to arrive.
Ferdinand estimated that the next three to five years would be the golden age for supermarkets, as competitors were still in the learning and exploration stage; within five to ten years, it would gradually transition to the silver stage, with more competitors and thinning profits.
However, Volvo’s dominant position was already established, and latecomers would find it difficult to challenge in the short term.
In ten years, his supporting industries would be complete, and with a full industrial chain, he could maximize profits.
Taking stock of the gains in 1881, Volvo had opened thirty-six new branches since its opening on June 18th, slightly exceeding the plan.
At the same time, it contributed thirty thousand pounds in net profit to Ferdinand, which was mainly consumed by opening new stores.
The average monthly profit per supermarket remained around eight hundred pounds, which was terrifying and currently Ferdinand’s largest source of income. This chapter was copied from novelping . com without permission.
Shuanghui Food Group Co., Ltd.
also performed very well.
After the restructuring of the flour processing plant, thanks to the rapid expansion of sales channels, its monthly profit grew from an initial three hundred pounds to one thousand pounds now.
The newly established noodle factory had average sales.
Although Ferdinand had created many brands, Europeans weren’t used to using chopsticks, though pasta sold quite well.
It initially suffered slight losses, and now the monthly profit was only around one hundred pounds, much to Ferdinand’s disappointment.
Fortunately, it was just a small factory with about a dozen people and hadn’t blindly expanded its scale, otherwise, it wouldn’t be profitable now.
However, the snack processing factory was doing well, with items like popcorn, French fries, and various biscuits selling quite well.
Since its establishment, the snack processing factory had expanded twice and now had over eight hundred employees.
In terms of scale within Ferdinand’s industries, it was second only to Volvo.
Its monthly profit now reached eight thousand pounds, with plenty of room for growth.
Throughout 1881, Ferdinand had created an industrial empire worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, yet his pockets had only seen an increase of less than ten thousand pounds in cash.
Christmas arrived, and exquisite Christmas trees were placed in front of Volvo, with a wide array of food displayed on the counters.
Santa Claus, wearing a red pointed hat and a bright red robe with a white beard and eyebrows, held a gift bag, waving to people and giving bags of food to passing children.
The supermarkets also launched festive discount promotions, with a dazzling array of goods marked with discounted prices, attracting the passing crowds.
This was entirely arranged by Ferdinand according to the Austrian Christmas of future generations,
and it looked like the results were excellent.
Many products were sold out, leaving only rows of empty shelves and exhausted sales clerks in the supermarkets.
Christmas is the most important holiday in the West, and Ferdinand’s family was no exception.
They were invited to Schönbrunn Palace to enjoy a Christmas dinner with a group of relatives from Vienna.
Afterward, the family sang and danced under the Christmas tree, exchanging gifts in a scene filled with warmth.
They then sang Christmas carols; the first Christmas carol to spread worldwide originated from Oberndorf in Salzburg, Austria.
After singing the carols, Ferdinand left Schönbrunn Palace to attend Mass at St.
Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.
Inside the cathedral stood a tall Christmas tree with a shining star pointing the way for the “Three Kings of the East”—Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior—to Bethlehem.
The streets and alleys of Vienna were now filled with children singing Christmas carols, going from house to house to spread the good news.
Aristocrats and Capitalists were unusually generous for once; all workers were given a holiday, and many even received Christmas gifts.
At least those working for Ferdinand received a Christmas gift, consisting of snacks produced by the factories and some slow-moving products.
Since Ferdinand’s factories produced food anyway, it was a very valuable gift for the impoverished workers.
If not for Butler Karl’s timely reminder, Ferdinand almost issued year-end bonuses.
Fortunately, he realized in time that in that era, unilaterally raising workers’ wages would draw hostility from other Capitalists.
After a lively Christmas, Ferdinand was woken up the next morning by Princess Clementine.
Sleeping in was a bad habit Ferdinand had developed in his previous life, but Princess Clementine loathed it, believing it would erode one’s willpower.
Ferdinand had resisted a few times to no avail and eventually obeyed; he thought Christmas might be an exception, but reality told him otherwise.
Morning exercise was also a tradition of the House of Koháry; the life of a military aristocrat was not as easy as the legends suggested.
A life of luxury and debauchery was the exception.
Most German aristocrats followed tradition and were strictly disciplined from a young age, learning far more than ordinary people and having almost no pleasant childhood to speak of.
Vienna’s nobility was beginning to decay, but mostly among the nouveau riche who sought pleasure and tarnished the reputation of the entire aristocratic circle.
True high-ranking nobles with deep roots were stricter with their descendants than most could imagine.