The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Paris Angel Trading Company

Life in the 18th century moved as slowly as the clouds drifting across the horizon.

Although Joseph had heard about the rush by the ladies of Versailles to buy Angel Water, the news from the shop only arrived the following evening, brought back by the assistant of the beautician.

"So, we sold a total of 1,460 livres?" Joseph looked at the young man in shock. "Forty bottles?"

"Yes, Your Highness. The ladies and their maids were bidding against each other. At the original price, it was impossible to buy. I heard that in the 'Fountain of Elegance' shop, their attendants nearly came to blows."

Joseph let out a long sigh. A miscalculation—he had sold it too cheaply!

It seemed...

He still wasn’t ruthless enough...

He underestimated the depth of the noblewomen's purses...

And he had not placed enough trust in the Queen’s influence on fashion...

Upon reflection, Joseph decided to act immediately: raise the prices!
Of course, directly marking up the original product would appear unseemly.

Joseph realized his previous business planning was far too crude, failing to fully exploit Angel Water’s commercial value.

He returned to his study at once and began writing furiously. After drafting over ten pages and revising them multiple times, he finally set down his pen with satisfaction.

The "Business Plan" before him divided Angel Water into three tiers: the luxury version, the deluxe version, and the standard version.

Segment the market, target noblewomen of varying spending power!
The standard version retained the original ingredients and packaging but reduced the volume to four ounces, priced at 14 livres.

The deluxe version added olive oil and came in a heart-shaped glass bottle with a brass outer box. It was also four ounces, priced at 26 livres.

The luxury version built upon the deluxe version by adding a small amount of lanolin and new scents like lavender, jasmine, and everlasting flower. Essentially, it utilized different essential oils. The bottles were modeled after the respective flowers and packaged in pure silver boxes, priced at 50 livres for four ounces.

Additionally, Joseph planned to develop a product line centered on Angel Water.

His first choice was face masks.

He had seen the face masks of this era—mostly applied directly to the face or used as mask-like coverings. The disposable cloth masks with eye, nose, and mouth cutouts from the future had yet to appear.

These were simple to produce: custom face-shaped cloth pieces soaked in Angel Water without thickening agents.

Judging by the frenzy among the noblewomen of Versailles for beauty products, it was clear the market for face masks would be promising.

Joseph similarly categorized the face masks into three tiers.

The luxury version used silk, the deluxe version used wool, and the standard version used cotton. These disposable products were to be discarded after a single use, priced at 5 livres, 3 livres, and 2 livres per piece, respectively.

Beyond this, the product line would also include hand creams, foot creams, and toners...

These were essentially variations of Angel Water with adjusted proportions of glycerin and salicin, or with extra lanolin added. With different packaging and names, they became new products—standard practices in the cosmetics industry of the future.

On top of enriching the product line, Joseph devised a new marketing strategy.

Consignment sales were no longer adequate; only direct sales at exclusive stores would project professionalism.

A VIP membership system was to be implemented, divided into gold card, silver card, and standard card memberships. The gold and silver cards would be crafted from real gold and silver, offering maximum ceremonial flair and emphasizing opulence.

Eventually, Joseph planned to roll out a franchise model, spreading across Europe!

Looking at the towering stack of his business plan, Joseph realized this was no longer a venture he could manage alone. It would require a company and a large workforce to sustain such an operation.

He immediately summoned his attendants and began delegating tasks.

The accountant was tasked with purchasing glycerin and other raw materials and arranging for bottles and outer packaging to be custom-made. This time, long-term contracts with suppliers would ensure a stable supply chain.

The beautician, accompanied by several maids, was put in charge of bottling Angel Water. For now, they would release 200 bottles a day into the market until the exclusive stores were ready to handle larger volumes.

The lawyer was instructed to register a company in Joseph's name.

At this point, Joseph, known for his difficulty in naming things, paused again. After much thought, he decided to highlight the connection to Angel Water, naming the company "Paris Angel Trading Company."

As for securing premises for the company and recruiting managers and employees, Joseph was unconcerned.

The bottles and packaging for all cosmetics were custom-made in Paris shops. Raw materials like glycerin and essential oils were readily available in the marketplace. The "Paris Angel Trading Company" would essentially handle only the final steps of bottling, packaging, and sales.

Such tasks required no specialized skills, so workers could easily be recruited. For management and sales roles, Paris, one of the most commercially developed cities in Europe, had an abundance of talent. Moreover, most of the Crown Prince’s personal attendants were idle; they could fill in temporarily if necessary.

The one unique technology—salicin extraction—was tightly controlled by Joseph. Even Lamarck, the chemist, did not know that the substance he was refining for the Crown Prince was a cosmetic ingredient.

Thus, even if all the newly hired personnel defected, they could not replicate a single drop of Angel Water.

Having assigned the tasks, Joseph found himself with spare time. Seeing that it was still early, he asked Eymond to prepare the carriage for a trip to Paris, intending to personally select a location for the exclusive store.

The carriage jolted along for several hours, arriving in Paris shortly after noon.

Eymond suddenly pointed out the window. "Your Highness, your perfume workshop—oh, it’s now a pharmaceutical workshop—is over there."

Joseph spotted a large courtyard in the distance, situated next to a tributary of the Seine River. On its eastern side, a massive waterwheel turned slowly.

He said to Eymond, "Let’s go take a look."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The courtyard was expansive, with over a dozen buildings of varying sizes and an open space larger than two basketball courts.

The gatekeeper, seeing the group's refined attire and demeanor, did not dare to obstruct them and eagerly led them inside.

Soon, Lamarck appeared, wearing an apron. He greeted Joseph with a bow. "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Joseph smiled and returned the gesture. "I’m planning to open a shop in Paris and thought I’d stop by to see you."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness," said Lamarck. "In fact, I was just about to consult you on something."

"Oh? What is it? Please, go ahead."

Lamarck gestured toward the workshop. "There were over 40 workers here, but extracting salicin doesn’t require nearly that many people. Should we dismiss them or assign some to continue making perfumes?"

More people were always a good thing! Joseph immediately instructed, "Do not dismiss anyone, and forget about perfumes. Purchase more equipment and continue expanding salicin production. They’ll all have plenty of work to do."

His goal was to turn "Paris Angel" into a luxury empire that would dominate Europe and reach the Americas. The demand for core raw materials would undoubtedly be immense.

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