noveltune Chapter 50 What are Luxury Goods?
Chapter 50 What are Luxury Goods?
September 1987, Shibuya.
On the slope of Koen-dori, the leaves of the beech trees on both sides are beginning to turn yellow, but this does not diminish the heat of the street at all.
Shibuya always seems to be associated with the words "youth" and "consumption".
The enormous signboard of PARCO department store gleamed in the sunlight, while Seibu department store windows displayed Rei Kawakubo's latest deconstructed jackets. University students dressed in Designer & Character Brand (DC) clothes strutted through the crowd like peacocks surveying their territory. Thick padding slings adorned their shoulders, Montblanc cigarettes dangled from their fingers, and they chatted about which disco to go to that evening or where to go skiing that weekend.
The air was filled with a scent that was a mixture of expensive perfume, car exhaust, and pent-up hormones.
That's the smell of money burning.
Seibu Department Store, Shibuya, 1st floor.
This prime shop, which originally belonged to a long-established Italian leather goods brand, has a new owner today.
There was no noisy gong and drum banging, nor any tacky opening flower baskets.
Behind the huge floor-to-ceiling windows lies a breathtakingly cold and austere space.
Architect Ando did not disappoint with the hefty design fee. He abandoned the then-popular nouveau riche style of piling up marble, instead using large areas of brown mirrors, antique brass shelves, and dark gray velvet carpets.
The lighting was designed to be very dim, with beams of precise spotlights shining on the exhibits as if displaying rare treasures in a museum.
At the entrance of the shop, there is only a small, brushed copper plaque:
S-Collection
That's a new brand from the Saionji family.
Welcome!
The shop assistants at the entrance wore well-tailored black uniforms and crisp white cotton gloves. Their smiles were standard and restrained, carrying the poise unique to high-end stores.
A young college student couple walked in.
The boy was wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt with the collar turned up, and his hair was styled with hair gel, each strand standing on end. The girl had the then-popular "holy grail" hairstyle and was carrying a Louis Vuitton bucket bag.
As soon as they entered, they instinctively slowed their footsteps.
Because the energy here is too strong.
The back door had been gently closed by the staff, and a "Open for Business" sign was placed outside, blocking their escape route.
The carpet underfoot felt as thick as walking on clouds, and a faint, pleasant aroma, like the scent of burning high-grade wood, filled the air.
"What...what brand is this? I've never seen it before."
The girl whispered, her eyes drawn to a red crocodile handbag on the display stand.
The handbag sat alone in a crystal dome, gleaming alluringly under the light.
She walked over and glanced at the small price tag next to her.
¥30,000
580,000 yen.
The girl withdrew her hand and stuck out her tongue.
"Wow, it's so expensive...but it's really beautiful. Is it imported from Italy?"
The boy leaned over for a look, his Adam's apple bobbing. Five hundred and eighty thousand yuan—equivalent to more than half a year's wages, or two months' living expenses from his family. Although in this day and age, college students spend money like water to pursue girls, this sum was still too much for him to handle.
"Well... it's alright."
The boy tried to appear calm and looked away, attempting to hide his embarrassment. He had no idea how his clumsy feet had led him into such an expensive-looking store.
"This kind of leather is too delicate and not suitable for you. Let's look at something else."
They walked around the store.
There aren't many items on display here, and each piece is placed at a considerable distance from the others.
A Hermès-style silk scarf, 120,000.
A bottle of niche perfume without a logo costs 80,000.
A leather jacket that looks like it was hand-stitched, 350,000.
The boy's forehead began to sweat.
He had intended to bring his girlfriend in to browse and show off his keen eye for "trendy brands," but instead, he felt like he had walked into a suffocating trap of exorbitant prices. Leaving empty-handed wouldn't be shameful in front of his girlfriend, but he felt he was lacking in "manly spirit."
Just as he was preparing to find an excuse to leave.
His gaze fell on a long, rectangular brass display stand in the center of the shop.
There was a neatly stacked pile of white T-shirts there.
There were no fancy patterns or the large prints that were popular at the time. There was only a tiny, almost invisible "S" embroidered in the same color silk thread on the left chest.
Minimalist.
cold.
It is different from others.
But against the backdrop of those "heavyweight" pieces costing hundreds of thousands of yen, this white piece appeared exceptionally high-class and pure.
The boy walked over and reached out to touch it.
It feels great to the touch.
Thick, soft, and smooth like a piece of cream.
He flipped open the price tag that was under the brass paperweight.
¥30,000
The boy's eyes lit up.
30,000 yen.
This would normally be an astronomical price for a T-shirt. But after being bombarded by that 580,000 yuan handbag, this number seems so approachable, so... cheap.
"Hey, Yui, look at this."
The boy called his girlfriend over.
"This T-shirt is nice. The design is very stylish, and the cut is quite unique, somewhat like... Yohji Yamamoto's style."
He didn't actually understand what tailoring was; he only knew that he could afford the price and that it would allow him to leave the store with dignity.
"Really?"
The girl touched the fabric and looked around at the luxurious decor.
"This brand must be very famous to have such a large store on the first floor of Seibu Department Store. 30,000 yen... doesn't seem too expensive?"
"Of course!"
The boy immediately perked up.
"This is called understated luxury. Only those in the know wear clothes without big logos."
He snapped his fingers and called over a shop assistant.
"Please take two items, one for me and one for my girlfriend. Size M and size S are both needed."
"Yes, sir. You have excellent taste."
The shop assistant walked over with a smile and picked up the two T-shirts with her gloved hands.
What happened next completely shattered the couple's last psychological defenses.
The shop assistant did not put the clothes directly into the bag.
Instead, they took out two heavy, hard-sided boxes covered with black specialty paper.
The clothes were wrapped in layers of tissue paper, sprayed with a little of the same fragrance as in the store, and then carefully placed into the box. The lid clicked shut with a satisfying, textured sound.
Finally, the box was placed in a thick paper bag with a gold-stamped "S-Collection" logo, and even the handles were made of silk.
The cost of this packaging may be higher than the cost of the clothes themselves.
But in the eyes of boys, this is more than just clothes.
This is about ritual.
It was the dignity he bought for 30,000 yen in Shibuya, the world of fame and fortune.
"Swipe your card."
The boy casually pulled out a Diners Club credit card.
"drop."
The transaction is complete.
The two of them walked out of the shop with their heads held high, carrying the huge paper bag that smelled of expensive perfume.
At that moment, they felt like the most fashionable people on the street.
……
The second floor.
From here, you can overlook the entire atrium on the first floor.
Shuichi and Satsuki stood by the fence, watching the couple's departing figures.
Xiuyi held a sales briefing that had just been delivered to him, his expression somewhat complicated.
"Fifty items were sold in one afternoon."
Shuichi looked at the number and felt it was somewhat absurd.
"One and a half million yen. All from those... T-shirts?"
As the textile industry was the Saionji family's traditional business, he knew all too well the ins and outs of those T-shirts.
Those were a batch of slightly higher-end new products produced by the Shanghai Gaoqiao factory. They used long-staple cotton from Xinjiang, China. Although the quality was indeed better than ordinary Japanese cotton, the landed cost, including labor and transportation, would not exceed 300 yen.
Three hundred becomes thirty thousand.
A hundredfold profit.
"Isn't this robbery?" Xiu said in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard by the customers downstairs.
"Robbery? Where would you get so much profit from robbery?"
Satsuki leaned against the railing, holding a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, the red liquid swirling within. (Yes, this was her "red wine.")
"Father, do you think that boy bought cotton?"
"Otherwise what?"
"No." Satsuki shook her head. "What he bought was the confidence of 'I made a purchase on the first floor of Seibu Department Store.' What he bought was the beautiful packaging box, the salesperson's compliment 'You have excellent taste,' and the envious looks from those around him as he walked out of the store."
"Cotton is just a carrier."
"In this era, the intrinsic value of material things has been stripped away. People consume symbols, class, and the illusion of 'I belong to high society.'"
She pointed to the empty counter downstairs—there had just been two T-shirts there, but they had already been sold.
"We gave him hallucinations and charged him 30,000 yen."
"That's fair."
Shuichi sighed.
"Is this what you call the 'anchoring effect'? Using those bags worth hundreds of thousands as a backdrop to make a 30,000 T-shirt look like it's being given away?"
"That's right."
Satsuki took a sip of pomegranate juice.
"The location of Seibu Department Store is itself the biggest 'anchor'. As long as it's located here, even garbage can be sold at the price of gold."
"And this is only the first step."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Father, have you had these clients' information recorded?"
"I've got it. I've gotten a membership card."
"very good."
Satsuki looked down at the bustling crowd below.
"These people who are now spending 30,000 yen on T-shirts are our future seed users."
"Over the next three years, we will deeply embed the 'S' logo in their minds, associating it with concepts such as 'high-end,' 'fashion,' and 'Seibu Department Store.'"
"This is called the initial accumulation of brand equity."
Shuichi seemed to understand something, yet he also seemed even more confused.
"And then what? You mean the price will go up later?"
"No."
Satsuki smiled, a very happy smile.
"Wait until three years later."
"When the stock market crashes, the housing market collapses, when that boy graduates but can't find a job, when that girl's designer bags are all pawned."
"When they stand on the street with only a few hundred yen left in their pockets, they still miss that feeling of being respected and pampered."
"We will open Chiba's warehouse."
"We'll sell them the same T-shirts, the same cut, the same logo, for 300 yen."
"That moment."
Satsuki's voice was soft, yet it struck Shuichi's heart like a heavy hammer.
"We will no longer be their 'luxury'."
"We will be their 'saviors'."
"We will be the only bit of dignity they can cling to in this bleak and depressed era."
Xiu felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.
He looked at his daughter's innocent profile.
This is more than just doing business.
They're still setting up a trap.
A grand scheme that spans time, exploits human weaknesses, first reaping vanity, then reaping poverty.
After being taught by his daughter, he suddenly realized how much profit he had been missing before—no matter how poor a person is, as long as he is alive, he has corresponding value.
"Trojan horse..."
Shuichi muttered to himself.
That paper bag with the "S" printed on it is the wooden horse. It has now entered the city carrying expensive illusions, and when the night is still and quiet (the bubble bursts), the cheap army inside it will pour out and take over the entire market.
"Let's go, Father."
Satsuki placed the empty cup on the table.
"I've had enough of this show."
"Since the Seibu Group has kindly lent us this stage, we must put on a full show."
"Inform Mr. Ando to upgrade the decoration standards of the Ikebukuro store to another level."
"Try to get more licenses from European luxury brands. You can tell them that the Crystal Palace storefronts are negotiable."
"I want everyone to think that S-Collection is an even more aloof and noble brand than Chanel."
The two turned and left.
Downstairs, another couple walked into the shop.
A girl's gasp could be faintly heard:
"Wow! This is only 30,000! That's such a great deal!"
That was the most beautiful, yet most ironic sound, before the bubble burst.
In a corner of the shop, on a newly delivered display rack, were several well-made promotional flyers.
That was a teaser for SA Entertainment's upcoming new entertainment project – "Karaoke Box".
A line of small print was written on it:
"Here, we hear your true voice."