A waiter led them to a private room and gestured for them to enter. “Please wait here. Mr. Plumlee is currently in another meeting next door and will join you shortly.”
Natalie nodded and entered the room with Joyce in tow.
After serving them tea, the waiter left the room, leaving the two ladies all by themselves.
“Hey, Nat. There’s something I want to tell you,” Joyce said after sipping her tea.
“Yeah? What is it?” Natalie looked up momentarily from her blueprints before ducking back down again.
After some hesitation, Joyce finally spoke up. “I heard that our country’s planning to create our very own luxury clothing brand.”
“What?” Natalie reeled back in shock. “Are you sure? Is this information reliable?”
“I don’t know. I’m just telling you what I heard.”
“Where did you hear this? And why haven’t I heard it too?” Natalie asked while staring at her.
Joyce rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. It’s not like you do sales. Why would you have heard anything?”
“That’s true.”
After another sip of her tea, Joyce continued, “Whether we’re talking about clothes or jewelry, or even shoes, bags, and cosmetics, these luxury items usually belong to foreign brands. The only local brand that stands out in our country is Thompson Group, and even then, it still isn’t of blue-chip standard.”
Her curiosity piqued, Natalie quickly kept her notes and concentrated on their conversation. “I know all about that. So what then?”
Thompson Group had only started its apparel company for a little over a year. It wouldn’t even have found its footing in the industry if it hadn’t been for Project Rebirth. However, not having a talented designer at its helm meant that the brand could only achieve the red-chip standard.
Blue-chip standard brands were the only certified luxury brands; yet, the apparel company was far from achieving that.
“So, they’re thinking of backing an apparel company and building it into our country’s very own luxury brand,” Joyce replied excitedly.
Natalie nodded, the entire picture clear to her now. “So it’s going to be another competition between apparel companies to be selected for this honor? Whoever wins will get the support they need and become a certified luxury brand.”
Joyce grinned with a thumbs up. “That’s right! I knew my Nat would be smart enough to get it!”
Unbeknownst to Joyce and Natalie, Shane happened to be with a client in the private room next to theirs. He paused with a frown when he heard the last sentence.
His client noticed he had spaced out and looked at him quizzically. “Is everything okay, Mr. Miller?”
Shane turned to his client with a smile. “Yes, everything’s fine. Let’s continue.”
Still blissfully unaware of Shane being in the next room, Natalie carried on with the conversation. “But why is there a need to choose from other apparel companies? Why not just support the one under Thompson Group?”
That was something Natalie couldn’t fathom.
Thompson Group’s clothing brand was already of red-chip standard. It would be easier for them to reach blue-chip rather than groom a new apparel company from scratch.
“I’ve asked around, and there are two reasons for that. First, Thompson Group is a family business, so there was no way they would allow outsiders to become shareholders. Second, their apparel company already has the backing of Thompson Group. As long as they hire the right designers, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to be certified as blue-chip.”
Natalie looked up in realization. “Oh, I see! So they plan to beat Thompson Group in creating the first local blue-chip luxury brand.”
“Exactly!” Joyce sipped her tea and added, “So, Nat, shall we participate too?”
Natalie was rather enamored by the idea but still decided against it after some consideration. “Didn’t you say this would be a fight between companies? We’re just a small studio. How can we participate?”
Even though she said that, deep down, she was dying to get this opportunity. With the support given, especially financial support, she would no longer have to worry about her competitors undermining her.
