Damian and Carolla listened quietly to the story of Zach, the head of the sales department at Kingsman Bakery, who had come to visit them.
After taking a sip of coffee from the cup on the table, Damian looked at Zach and spoke.
"In short, what you're saying is that you want to turn the bakery I'm running into a franchise store under Kingsman Bakery, right?"
"I'm not just saying that. Mr. Damian Marcus, you must also consider this. It's no longer an era where we can go forward with just our own power. Franchising is the true strategy for success."
"Are you telling me that uniform, personality-less stores, with no unique traits, are the real success strategy?"
"Right now, our Kingsman Bakery Guild is a massive guild in the bakery industry, and there's no place on the continent we haven't spread to. The prices are cheap, and the taste isn't bad, so we're quite popular with people."
"You may offer cheap prices now, but after using enormous capital to drive small bakeries out of business, once only you remain, you'll raise the bread prices through monopoly and make ordinary people and small business owners cry."
"But at least if you join our guild, I can promise you certain profits. You can earn more than you do now."
"Enough. I'm not doing this because I lack money. I simply enjoy baking bread, and I don't want to live greedily chasing after money. I plan to earn enough, spend enough, and then move on when my time comes. For now, I have enough to live on, so I don't want to obsess over money."
"Hmm... I understand. In that case, I'll take it that you've rejected my offer, and I'll leave now. Excuse me."
Zach, finishing his words, turned around and left the bakery without looking back.
Carolla, who had been listening quietly, turned to Damian and spoke.
"Damian, what was that guy talking about earlier?"
Damian responded to Carolla's curiosity.
"He wants to turn the bakery we're running, 'Handsome Guys Bread,' into a franchise store under Kingsman Bakery. He's promising that we'll make even more profit than now."
"Really? If we could earn more money than now, wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Damian shook his head vigorously at Carolla's words.
"You still don't know much about franchise guilds. Let me tell you how vicious they really are. When you hear about how much impact they have on market traders and small business owners, it'll send chills down your spine."
Damian began explaining the oppression caused by franchise guilds. Carolla sat quietly and listened to Damian's explanation.
"Franchise guilds, when you don't listen to them, they'll set up their own stores nearby. They have huge financial backing, so even if they lose money at first, they sell their products cheaper than nearby small shops. Then people flock to them, and the small businesses without customers end up closing."
"Eventually, the only ones left are the franchise guilds. This creates a monopoly, and the franchise guilds can raise the prices of the products they sell and exploit people however they want. Nowadays, they just set up stores at prime locations and aim to crush small business owners completely."
"The problem with franchise guilds doesn't end there. If a small business falls for their trap and joins the guild, opening a shop using their brand, there are opening costs, interior costs, and etc fees. It's not just one or two expenses. If the shop does well, that's fine."
"But if it doesn't, they end up in debt, falling deeper into financial trouble. The cost of opening the shop is huge, and the expenses keep piling up afterward. The people at the center of these franchise guilds are just waiting to exploit small business owners and ordinary folks."
"The prices are much higher than what you'd pay at a local market, and the quality is just okay. Recently, it was even revealed in the news that the oil used in franchise chicken shops was not high-quality olive oil, but recycled oil, causing a big scandal.
It's not all bad, but when you look at it as a whole, they are the garbage of the distribution industry. They lack business ethics and are just bad people who only care about money."
"To think such scum exist... I was foolishly advocating for joining the franchise guild without knowing any better."
After hearing Damian's explanation, Carolla felt embarrassed for having suggested joining the franchise guild just because of the potential profits.
"Anyway, tomorrow's the problem. I've already established a reputation, so I'm not too worried, but the other bakeries will definitely take a hit. Sigh..."
Damian took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and sighed while speaking.
The next morning.
At 9 AM, Damian saw Zach, the head of the sales department at Kingsman Bakery, walking around with a few people, inspecting buildings.
The next morning.
Damian and Carolla saw that Kingsman Bakery's Lunemire branch was planning to open. They had bought a three-story building and were planning to decorate it lavishly.
Damian and Carolla continued to monitor the situation while running their bakery.
A month passed.
Kingsman Bakery's Lunemirebranch, a giant three-story franchise bakery, opened. The third floor was a lounge and relaxation area, the second floor was a café, and the first floor was a bakery and coffee shop, forming a massive bakery.
Damian's bakery, Handsome Guys Bread, was also a two-story building, with the second floor having a café where customers could enjoy bread and coffee. But while Damian's café was small and cozy, Kingsman Bakery's café was extravagant, likely attracting nobles and royals.
Moreover, the third floor provided spaces for tarot readings, board games, and chess, creating a truly grand environment.
"Damian, the sales are a bit lower than yesterday."
"How much lower?"
At 9 PM, Carolla, who was calculating the daily earnings after closing the store, spoke in a slightly depressed voice.
"Today, we only earned 1332 Ruchel [Empire's currency]. That's 7% lower than yesterday."
"1330 is still pretty good. It's not bad."
"But it's still going down. We used to sell an average of 1700-800, and sometimes up to 2000 Ruchel a day."
"Well, we were earning excessively before. Do you think it's easy to make 2000 a day just by selling bread?"
"You're still using high-quality wheat from your own farm, while Kingsman Bakery is selling trashy bread. It just pisses me off that they're outcompeting us."
"Yeah... I'll have to come up with some kind of solution. I'm fine, but I'm sure small-scale bakeries are really close to going out of business now."
Damian said this with a seemingly calm demeanor, but in his mind, he was already thinking of many things.