Chapter 326

Chapter 326

Ellie’s popularity did not fade easily.

The advertisement posted on A-Tube exceeded 5 million views, and the website of Bester was down to see the published pictorial.

In her photos, Ellie showed off her charm to the fullest, and her sportswear that she wore and took pictures of her sold like a wing.

But this is nothing. Surprisingly, the ad for Royal Fish & Chips surpassed 10 million views!

Most idol group music videos don’t come out like this. The reason this was possible was thanks to the proper shooting of the B-class sensibility.

A childish set and song. It was the result of combing the cute dance moves of the advertising model (part-time employee at the time of filming) and the exaggerated and awkward acting.

In every way, it contrasts perfectly with the Best Advertisement.

In fact, whenever I was bored, I played it once and helped increase the number of views.

Thanks to the explosive popularity on the Internet, the Royal Fish & Chips advertisement went out to the airwaves and was also reported in foreign media. In fact, the franchise went bankrupt.

He even parodied in several entertainment shows and gag programs, plunging Ellie into the depths of despair.

According to Taek-gyu, there is nothing more interesting than her black history.

However, this caused another anomaly. The fish and chips craze has blown out of nowhere in the restaurant industry. At this time, franchises were created to collect franchisees, and small take-out stores were popping up. Among them, there were places with the names ‘Royal Fish & Chips’ or ‘Royal P Chips’.

Ellie looked as if she had lost everything now.

“Even the British don’t like fish and chips,” she said.

They eat it just because it is, she says, not because it is particularly delicious.

“It is a characteristic of the Korean restaurant industry that when something comes out, it is followed one after another.”

Fish and Chips were also highly likely to step on their ex-wife, such as small beer, low-priced juice, and Taiwanese castella, which appeared briefly in the meantime.

Wouldn’t it all go out of business in a few months?

Actually, there is another big problem. As the competition for coverage intensified, the paparazzi followed Ellie.

Among them, there were not only Korean giraffes (?), but also professional paparazzi. They took pictures of celebrities and sold them on tabloids, etc. to make money.

They didn’t care inside or outside the hotel. From time to time, he appeared at coffee shops, restaurants, fitness centers, and swimming pools and pointed at the camera.

When the hotel banned the entrance, they came in disguised as ordinary people, and even saved up money among themselves to rent a room on the same floor as Ellie.

Because of this situation, it was difficult to eat breakfast or drink coffee, let alone exercise or swimming.

When they tried to expel them, they all claimed the people’s right to know. I don’t know why other people’s private lives fall into the category of the right to know, but there is no proper means of sanctions.

Ellie shook her head.

“I think we need to move hotels.”

Since Golden Gate is of foreign descent, 20% of the workers are foreigners.

Those who were expatriates or those who came on a business trip who did not find a separate home stayed at the Grand Dayton Hotel in Samsung Station, which is owned by Golden Gate. That’s why Golden Gate employees sometimes call it the dormitory.

Ellie said that she stayed there after she came to Korea. She originally stayed there with her sister-in-law and Henry.

“Where?”

“I don’t know yet. I am also thinking of Dragon Carlton Hotel in Yongsan or Lite Tower in Jamsil.

“Then the distance from the company would be far away. Isn’t it difficult to commute to work?”

away from our house.

She said that if Ellie had only been an advertising model for the Golden Gate Lawyer, she might not have gotten the public attention so far as she did. But this happened when she added that she was the lover of the richest person in the world.

So now she can say that she is to some extent responsible for Ellie’s suffering.

And she says moving hotels doesn’t completely solve the problem either. You’ll know where it’s moved, and then the same thing will happen again.

Well, if I go to a more secure hotel, it will be better than now… … .

“There is a better way.”

“What?”

I said carefully.

“How about staying at my house for a while until it’s quiet?”

At that, Ellie widened her eyes as if surprised.

“Are you at Jinhoo’s house?”

“Yes. The company and Hyunjoo noona are close. It is convenient to commute to work, and it is a residential area, so security is good.”

“It is.”

“If Ellie is uncomfortable, there is nothing I can do about it.”

“no. Well, it’s not really that uncomfortable… … .”

Ellie muffled her lips, and she ran her fingers through her hair for nothing.

Even now, we spend three or four days a week together at our house. I have Ellie’s makeup and clothes to change in my room. However, living together and coming to play often is a different story.

“Won’t Taek-gyu feel uncomfortable?”

“It’s okay.”

After thinking for a moment, Ellie said cautiously.

“Then are you going to do that for a while?”

I nodded quickly.

“I do that. for a while.”

I don’t know how long that might be for the time being.

Ellie immediately took her things out of the hotel and moved into our house, and Taek-gyu gladly welcomed the new occupants.

We ate Jajangmyeon at a Chinese restaurant as a souvenir. It’s also jjajangmyeon on moving day.

* * *

The Japanese stock market and the political world were uproar, and while we were on vacation, the world economy was busy.

Currently, our biggest concern is Carlos.

The AD3 and AD4, which were released at the end of last year, sold like crazy. Since the start of production and delivery, the number of reservations has increased rather than decreased.

Daryl encouraged and supported the production of parts for its suppliers, while operating some factories in full operation on a four- and three-shift system.

Taehyung tilted his head.

“If it’s a three-shift system, shouldn’t there be three groups?”

“Then you will be able to work without holidays.”

After working 8 hours, workers must take 16 hours off. However, if you rotate three groups in three shifts, you have to go back to work immediately after taking a 16-hour break.

You can’t take a day off, of course, and you can’t change the work order in the middle.

When organized into four groups, three groups are put in a day, and one group can take a break while working. And night work can be done properly during the day, night, and night shifts as it puts a strain on physical strength.

It’s not just about rejoicing that factories return to grass. Conversely, it means that the production capacity was not equipped due to the wrong demand forecasting.

Of course, it was because the order was delayed in the early stages, but even considering that, there was too much demand.

As sales of Karos skyrocketed, dealers were also busy.

The AD3 and AD4 were sold through the website and dealerships, just like their predecessors. As there is no discount, the price is the same wherever you buy it.

Dealers not only sell vehicles, but also serve as a base for parts replacement and maintenance.

Before that, when selling Chrysler vehicles, dealers who used to scrape their tongues out of their mouths also hit the jackpot. The cars are sold as soon as they are brought in, and it was difficult to find exhibit cars and test cars.

Inquiries from other dealers flooded. They will switch to a Karos dealer, so they will also ask for a quantity.

However, there is no need to pay commissions by consigning sales to a dealer as it is already selling mainly online.

Dealers who remained loyal to the end even when Chrysler went bankrupt are different stories.

Competitors were all very nervous and watched the sales trend of Karos. In the aftermath of the new car launch of Karos, most automakers’ stock prices fell.

The companies that have been hit the hardest are… … .

I received a report from Sergei Jovanovich, CFO of Karos.

[Nicola’s financial situation is not good. He is rumored to go bankrupt sooner or later.]

* * *

Nikola once surpassed the market caps of GM and Ford to become the largest automaker in the United States.

Nikola, who could not sell 100,000 units a year, was able to surpass GM’s market cap of 7 million units because he was confident that he would win the fierce future car competition.

In general, the strategy of automakers is to launch a small and medium-sized sedan that is inexpensive and in demand the most, then builds up capital and technology to advance into the high-end car market. Most of the companies, including Eunsung Motors, have grown in this way.

But Nikola’s strategy was the exact opposite.

First, a roadster (two-seater sports car) was introduced, followed by a four-seater luxury sedan. The price was over $100,000.

This strategy was possible because of the support of batteries and autonomous driving technology.

By targeting the rich market first, we built awareness and expanded our production facilities and sales volume. And based on this, he introduced a popular car that was in high demand. That car is the $30,000 compact sedan Model TM.

The Model TM proved Nikola’s strategy to be successful, drawing hundreds of thousands of reservations despite a $1,000 deposit.

Now, you can make money just by producing and selling Model TM. Experts also predicted that Nikola would get out of the swamp of deficit and turn into a surplus with the release of Model TM.

At this point, however, two problems arose.

The first is Big One.

Unlike American automakers, which are mostly concentrated in Rustbelt, Nikola has a plant adjacent to Silicon Valley.

In the aftermath of Big One, the Model TM plant in California was severely damaged, and the Giga Plant plant in Nevada was also shut down.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

Nikola’s production capacity fell back to the bottom due to a disaster that occurred while the production was in full swing. Instead of broken machines, they were assembled by hand, and the production cost soared and the defect rate increased.

It was the biggest bad news since its inception.

But even this is nothing compared to the second bad news.

It was the launch of an electric car by Karos. The AD3 and AD4 were more than $20,000 more expensive than the Model TM, but they were equipped with fully autonomous driving technology and double the capacity of the battery. That’s good enough for more than $20,000.

Now, at the point of making a profit through the Model TM, a competitor has emerged that mass-produces and sells better electric vehicles.

Karos swept away the market demand that Nikola should have taken. In fact, many of the Model TM waiters canceled their reservations and moved to AD3 and AD4.

A bigger problem than the immediate drop in sales is the image deterioration.

There are companies that sell more EVs than Nikola, but none that make better EVs. Therefore, driving a Nikola car was a symbol of trendy and luxury.

But now, the image of the most outstanding car of the future was taken over by Carlos, and now no one looked at Nicolas with envy.

It was once at the forefront, but now it’s just one of those electric car brands.

CEO Allen Eberhart burst into anger.

“Caros took over the market we worked hard for 15 years!”

In fact, Nikola has made an effort to expand the base of electric vehicles and played a major role in popularizing electric vehicles. No one would deny that they were pioneers.

However, there are plenty of opportunities for a Fast Follower to plant a flag in the land pioneered by the First Mover.

Concerns about Nikola’s bankruptcy didn’t happen overnight. In the 15 years since its founding, it has never made a profit and has huge debts.

Nikola was in the red every quarter, and at worst it was a quarter of a billion dollars. If it had been any other company, it would have gone bankrupt sooner.

Nevertheless, it was possible to continue investing and growing because of the continuous blood transfusion of investment funds.

As the financial situation became difficult due to various unfavorable factors, Allen Everhart set out to attract new investment through the issuance of new shares.

It is a method that has been used every time so far, and each time investors come with bundles of money willingly.

But this time the mood was different. The reaction of Wall Street investors was cold, not cold.

‘If Karos goes public, I don’t know, who will buy Nikola stock now?’

Some analysts say there’s nothing as stupid as buying Nikola stock now, and recommend investing in GM and Ford, both of which have partnered with Karos.

The issuance of new shares was canceled due to lack of demand. As soon as the news broke, Nikola plummeted 60 percent in one day.

Its market capitalization, which exceeded $60 billion in its heyday, is now just over $12 billion. The churn of reservations became more and more severe, and the barely restored factory capacity fell to 50 percent.

As long as the company continues to grow, deficits are not a problem. However, the moment it stops growing, the deficit becomes a boomerang.

As bonds and loans approached maturity, Allen Eberhart went directly to New York to persuade Wall Street investors. But all were negative.

Eventually, she couldn’t stand it any longer and Nikola applied for court management.

In fact, it went into bankruptcy.