"...I owe you a little bit about this..."
Henri Lacamie said, opening a bottle of Macallan single malt whiskey produced decades ago and pouring two glasses. liquor.
This is the eve of the official start of the banquet. This is the manager's office of Maxim Restaurant. In addition to the laughter of the guests in the front hall, there are two security staff guarding the door.
Ning Weimin sat opposite the new LVMH chairman, watching the man who, although he was new to the throne, could be said to be the most powerful person in the French fashion industry, pour him wine. His vanity was quite satisfied.
Yes, the treatment he enjoys now is comparable to when he first met Henri Lacamier.
At that time, he was a little transparent person who was looked down upon and almost ignored. Today, because of his "conquering the dragon", he has become a guest of the new king who needs to be treated with a smile and treated with enthusiasm.
For this reason, his brain couldn't stop secreting dopamine.
This bottle of wine in particular is one of the few treasures in the wine library of Maxim Restaurant.
It was taken out by a special person from the double-locked wine cabinet in the wine warehouse.
Although he didn’t know the specific price of this bottle of wine, Ning Weimin knew the year just by seeing Henri Lacamier blow off the thick layer of ash on the bottle. The price must be high if not short.
So it was great to be treated so favorably. At this moment, what else could he say?
Everyone carries the sedan chair. The Chinese way of communication prompted him to habitually speak in a scene.
"Please don't say that, you are too polite. I just did what I should do."
However, the French way of talking does make people a little acclimated, Ning Weimin Unexpectedly, Henry Lacamier was not polite, but refuted him, showing his inflexibility and persistence.
"No, what I said is the truth. I am very grateful to Pierre and you for your help, especially to you. You came up with this idea and you got the most funds. The key is that Pierre and I have Friendship, but you don't. I don't care if we win the prize in the end, we are so lucky. Anyway, I can't win this time without you. This makes me feel even more ashamed, not only because I did underestimate you at the beginning, It’s also because you saved me and I failed to fulfill my promise to you.”
Henri Lacamie took out ice cubes from the ice bucket and put them into two glasses of wine, and handed one of them to Ning Weimin.
What he meant by this was that the Dior clothing failed to be taken off and was returned to Bernard Arnault.
Originally this was a condition for everyone to "divide the spoils" because Pierre Cardin was once an assistant to Dior and also worked as a designer for Dior clothing.
Henry meant to leave this company to him and Ning Weimin, without getting involved.
As a result, due to the situation, he was worried that Bernard would really bring in Vivendi, so he discussed it with Pierre Cardon and Ning Weimin, and finally adopted the method of exchanging shares.
Ning Weimin's personal shareholding in LVMH is now 10%, and Pierre Cardin's is 9%.
According to the current market value of LVMHS of 4.1 billion, it is not too bad.
But the problem is that LVMH is a listed company and must retain a corresponding number of public shares.
They still have to sell some more according to the proportion of shareholders' shareholdings, or the board of directors approves the issuance of new shares to the public.
In other words, the duck you get cannot be fully eaten.
So this deal is quite uneconomical for them.
Ning Weimin took the crystal wine glass that was passed to him, imitating Henri Lacamier's style, and took a sip with a smile, savoring it slowly.
As for his mood, it was just like the taste of the drink he came into contact with for the first time. He couldn't tell whether it was sweet or sour, spicy or astringent.
Just as he couldn't tell the difference between good and bad wine, he also didn't understand Henri Lacamier's intention of calling him here alone and taking the initiative to mention this matter.
It sounds like the chairman is blaming himself and offering compensation, but is it really that simple?
Based on Ning Weimin's understanding of Henri Lacamier, he was actually a rather arrogant person.
This kind of person's face is more important than anything else. Even if he makes a mistake, he usually will not admit his mistake.
Besides, if he really wants to make compensation, wouldn’t it be difficult for him to say it in front of Pierre Cardon, unless he...
"...You should understand that I am not the kind of person who betrays his trust. This was not my intention. Now that things have turned out to be this way, I did not expect it. Of course, you have the right to ask for additional compensation, so I still want to have a good chat with you about this matter. Do you want a seat on the board of directors? If you have this idea, maybe we can find a way, but it will take more time and we will have to make a new agreement with each other..."
Come, come. Got it! So that's it...
Although Henri Lacamier pretended to be relaxed and tried his best to make a friendly gesture, Ning Weimin still detected some subtle emotions in his twinkling eyes.
There is dodge and flinch, but it is more like a kind of fear and defense.
As a Chinese, he immediately understood what the other party was trying to do.
Don’t forget, he has five thousand years of history as a foundation. The emperors of all dynasties in China have almost always followed the same path to founding the country.
And in terms of means, "play hard to get" is not a profound knowledge.
In addition, Ning Weimin has always known the hypocrisy of European "old money" and American wealthy families. Even if these people eat people without spitting out their bones, they always like to pretend to be "I am good for you",
At this time, of course he understood his current situation.
This is a comparison. What Henri Lacamier thought and did at the peak of his life can actually be understood as Song Taizu's "cup of wine to release military power."
Speaking of this, Ning Weimin was really lucky. He was not the founding general who lived in the feudal era. His life and death, honor and disgrace were tied to the emperor, and he was destined to be manipulated and controlled at will.
He does not have Nian Gengyao's ambition and unruly bad temper. His appeal for core interests and the means by which he can rise are essentially different from those of European and American interest groups. So he immediately shook his head knowingly without even hesitating.
"No, no, there is absolutely no need for us to talk about this matter. I have no intention of joining the board of directors at all. You should know that the focus of my career is not in France, but in Asia. I hold LVMH shares Shares are purely financial investments. I am optimistic about the historical heritage and brand culture of LV and MH. I also believe that LVMH, which has solved its internal conflicts, will definitely get better and better in your hands. It is enough for me to receive considerable dividends every year. Why should I join the board of directors?”
However? Even though his rainbow fart shot was so brilliant and his attitude was correct, he still couldn't completely win people's trust.
In order to test the truth and falsehood, Henry Lacamier not only continued to persuade, but even threw out a bigger bait.
"What are you doing by joining the board of directors? Of course you can participate in LVMH's decision-making. Don't you want a bigger platform to display your talents? Ning, your excellence surprises me, for a young man like you Destined to achieve great things. You know what I think. Recently, I have seriously considered that I need help to regain control of the group company. Pierre is a good friend, but he is old and has his own company, so he cannot help me much. . But you are different. You are young and energetic, so I really hope you can join LVMH. Of course, your wife is a big star in Japan, and you definitely don’t want to be separated from her, but we can totally work around it. How about I arrange for you to join the board of directors and hand over all LV’s business in Asia? You only need to come back a few times a year to participate in voting on major issues. ”
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Henri Lacamier's tone was very sincere, and he looked completely hungry for talents.
And the cakes he painted are indeed delicious. They are the real officials of feudal frontiers, the fat servants who opened yamen and built mansions.
Even Ning Weimin was indeed moved in his heart.
The board members are also responsible for the entire Asia region. This is LVMH, a real money business, the company that can best extract money from the pockets of wealthy people in the world.
The style is good enough, and if you tell the truth, it will give you more face. Not only has your status improved, but you are also full of luck.
The annual salary is several million dollars, right?
If you are a little greedy, you can make more money from this position than the prefect of Qing Dynasty for ten years.
But then again, how can this benefit be so easy to get?
He is the one who played Bernard Arnault to death. Henri Lacamier knows this best. Can he trust him?
If he really agreed, Henri Lacamier would not be able to sleep well.
What's more, this kind of job-hopping can destroy his character. He is a member of Pierre Cardon, and he can transfer for profit, which is inconsistent with his personality.
What will the other party think of him?
You will definitely think that he is inconsistent with his words and forgets his own good. From now on, he must be on guard against him.
If he doesn’t even have the other party’s trust, how can he really have a future at LVMH?
And the entire company is now controlled by others, so the rules of the game are not decided by others?
If someone temporarily gives you some benefits to appease you, then turns around and finds some reason to kick you away, what can you do?
If it doesn’t work, it will be a problem for him to get dividends safely with his equity. People will definitely find ways to dilute his equity or even run him away.
Not to mention, he has been operating in Japan for so long and has a lot of money to spend.
His expected return there was actually far more than Henri Lacamier had promised.
This temptation that most people would think is an opportunity that cannot be missed is actually quite tasteless to him. Wouldn’t it be better for him to just sit back and pay the dividends?
You can also enjoy the privileges brought by being a major shareholder and the profits from stock price appreciation.
Why do you want to get into trouble and do such a dishonorable and thankless job?
He still understands this matter clearly.
So he pretended to be surprised and embarrassed, and this time he pretended to think about it. After worrying about the gain and loss for a while, he made a statement of rejection.
"No, still not. I thank you for your consideration and your appreciation of me, Mr. Lacamier. But I still regret to decline your invitation. I am very satisfied with my current situation. , I will only be a shareholder of LVMH from now on.”
"Satisfied?" Henry Lacamier showed an incredible expression at first, "LVMH is much better than Pierre Cardin in every aspect."
And then, he seemed to He also noticed that his tone might be a bit hurtful, so he immediately wiped his butt.
“Oh, I’m not saying there is anything bad about Pierre Cardon’s business. However, if you are worried that Pierre will be unhappy, or oppose and hinder you, there is no need to do so. In fact, I have already I asked him what he meant. He doesn't want to hinder your future, so I will invite you..."
Ning Weimin was stunned again after hearing this.
Henri Lacamière didn't look like he was lying. He seemed to have really communicated with Master Caton.
But even this will change nothing. Neither this temptation nor the master's attitude can make Ning Weimin lose his mind and make the wrong choice.
His backbone was firm, so he reiterated his decision.
"Mr. Lacamier, I thank you again. But I still have to stick to my decision. Because to be honest, the master's feelings are only one reason for my concerns. I have many other reasons. Even if the Master allows him to leave Picardon, I personally would not want to do it."
Looking at Henri Lacamière. With indeed a puzzled look, Ning Weimin couldn't help but smile, "I'm serious. First of all, I am very happy working under Mr. Pierre Carton. Mr. Carton not only made me successful, but he also gave me Give me freedom and trust, give me shelter, give me shares, let me freely develop and engage in the work I like. Without him, I would not be where I am today. And I'm used to working for him. I don't want to work for anyone else, so I won't leave him unless he asks me to leave. And I'm more inclined to leave Pierre Cardon. Start your own business.”
“Secondly, I am actually an outsider in the French high-end fashion industry, because Pierre Cardin is not only I operate mass-market clothing, and I have never really been familiar with the clothing industry. You should know that I am running a restaurant in Japan. If you let me be responsible for running LV's tasks in Asia, you are really looking down on me. . To be honest, even I want to vote against it. I don’t want the company’s income to be reduced because of me.”
"Also, my wife owns a considerable amount of Yves Saint Laurent shares in her name. When we first reached this investment, we also agreed with each other that we would not intervene in the business. If I hold shares of LVMH now, But joining the board of directors will inevitably cause misunderstandings on the part of Yves Saint Laurent and think that we are people who do not keep our word. This will definitely shake the foundation of trust in our mutual cooperation.”
“In turn. , what will the LVMH board of directors think of me? Will a Chinese person serve as a director of a long-standing French brand and participate in the actual operation? Will this affect the style of the brand? Will it affect the trust of customers? Will I feel guilty? When there is a conflict of interest between LVMH and the Yves Saint Laurent brand, can the interests of LVMH prevail if my wife’s investment affects the decision-making? This is a question.”
“So I can only remember your kindness. I can’t join LVMH. I hope you don’t mind. It’s not good for you, LVMH, or myself. I can’t and don’t want to become a new unstable factor for LVMH. But I can guarantee it. Yes, when I leave France, my shares will be handed over to Mr. Catton to help hold it, so you will not experience the crisis of losing power in LVMH in the future, and you will definitely be able to shape it according to your wishes without hindrance. The brilliance of this company.”
This statement is absolutely justified and reasonable.
Looking at Ning Weimin's sincere expression, although Henry Lacamier immediately expressed regret, the peace of mind in his eyes and the cordiality from his heart could not be deceived.
He finally believed it and was very satisfied. For him, Ning Weimin did not start to swell and become unsure of his own position just because he became the majority shareholder, which made him infinitely relieved.
"Okay, okay, but even so, I can't let you suffer too much, I still have to find a way to make up for it." (End of this chapter)