[Chapter 534: Food, Clothing, Housing and Transportation]
Running a soccer club? That was just plain crazy. To many people, it seemed like the billionaire was out of his mind.
With the World Cup in Italy approaching, the veil over the next World Cup was lifted. Yes, you heard it right, America was planning to host the World Cup.
Instantly, the U.S. became the target of ridicule from fans around the globe. Concerns were rampant. Some worried about the team not making it past the group stage, others feared they wouldn't score a single goal, and some even joked about players running with the ball in their hands.
Before long, various quips about American soccer became hot topics over meals and drinks.
There was a group of American tourists visiting London. They stumbled upon a bustling pub and started drinking and chatting.
When they saw on TV that the game ended in a draw, the Americans erupted in anger. "What the hell? Why aren't they playing? Keep it going! A tie? What's the point of that?!"
The reception they received was nothing but relentless mockery. A brawl was inevitable. Thus, Americans and American soccer quickly became the punchline for others.
...
"Sir, are you planning to get into the clothing industry?"
"Yes, help me acquire two or three brands in Italy and France. You decide the specifics."
"Sir, Italy is fine; they don't care about these things. But France... now that's a hassle. Their efficiency..."
William White shook his head with a wry smile. "Fine, then let's avoid dealing with them. Let's stick with Italy. You know, Filson, their women are quite something."
Filson laughed bitterly, knowing the best talent had already been snatched up. No wonder they held such resentment. If William attempted to acquire a French League team, he would definitely hit a brick wall.
There were many ways to make money, but in William White's view, the most dependable was through daily necessities. Beyond clothing and apparel, he was involved in everything else.
For William, no matter how sophisticated a technology was, there was always some risk involved. Just one wrong decision could bring even the greatest companies crashing down.
IBM, Motorola, Nokia, Ericsson, HTC -- these were all big names that had their shining moments. IBM had even managed a miraculous rebirth. Regardless, their glories had faded away.
On the flip side, businesses selling simple goods like clothing and food had proven resilient. It might be hard to believe, but the later richest man in Japan was not the flashy Masayoshi Son.
A guy from a rural area selling clothes held onto the title of richest man for a long, long time.
You could say Uniqlo was something special, but honestly, it was pretty average. Their materials weren't the best, and the designs were just okay. The only thing worth praising was their quality.
As for prices, Uniqlo really was cheap. A dress shirt would go for two thousand yen, and sometimes it was buy one, get one free.
The processing costs at H&M were far below those of Uniqlo. As for the retail prices, well, you get the idea.
William White didn't intend to learn from any of those businesses. However, creating a light luxury brand wasn't a bad idea.
The U.S. was undoubtedly the country that wasted the most in the world. Despite their casual clothing style, the textile consumption per person was certainly the highest, without question.
They really bought T-shirts and dress shirts in bulk. They wore them only a few times before tossing them out since they weren't that expensive anyway.
Sure, they calculated that if they used a washing machine, the clothes wouldn't look too good after a few washes. If they took them to the dry cleaners, it would be better to just buy new ones.
Not to mention hotel laundry services; even coin-operated laundries were not that cost-effective. If you calculated the number of shirts Americans tossed each year, it would definitely be a terrifying figure.
What was most absurd was that the whole world wanted them to continue wasting. If Americans learned to use an iron themselves, over twenty percent of textile companies would face trouble.
As for silk underwear, Americans had quite the destructive power. It seemed they had a penchant for ruining things.
"Filson, for clothing, the design center should be in Europe, but quality control should all be done in Japan. Go take a look and see if you can acquire a factory or two."
"Sir, are you saying this order should be placed in Japan?"
"Of course, if it's not done this way, where would I make money?"
"Uh-oh, that could be a bit tricky. I heard there are quotas on textiles. You know, this could get complicated."
"Damn it, those idiots. Well, let them order semi-finished products. We can do the branding and final pressing in Japan. If necessary, they can even skip the buttons. You can't exactly claim that a shirt without buttons is a product, right?"
"Really, this can work?"
"What's wrong with that? If you ask me, they're just bored. American textile companies will never take off again unless all those clothes are made by robots."
"Sir, are you saying Americans don't enjoy that kind of work?"
"Of course, besides those here illegally, who would want to stay in a clothing factory? In a few years, even the people from Japan won't want to do that either."
Filson was baffled as to why his boss knew so much. Ignoring the workers, the quota issue seemed surprisingly feasible.
In fact, William knew more than just this. Japan's clothing industry eventually collapsed despite their impressive efficiency.
Young people were unwilling to work in clothing or electronics factories because the assembly line work was far too dull. They found working in a convenience store much more engaging.
*****
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