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Chapter 157: Profit Settlement
🕑 Added 2024-12-24 23:13:46 +0000 UTCChapter 157: Profit Settlement
Flesselles added, "This is just the income from the organizing committee. The city hall should have earned tens of thousands of livres as well, but the exact amount will need to be calculated by them."
Only the revenue from the Tuileries Palace and the amusement park went to the Fashion Week organizing committee, while the extra money made from things like the public buses, museums, and theaters belonged to the city hall.
Joseph nodded calmly, though inwardly he was quite excited. The numbers were nearly a million livres higher than he had expected. And this was only the sixth day of Fashion Week; there were still two more days to go. The total profit would definitely exceed 5 million livres. As for why Fashion Week lasted eight days? Well, there were still more than two weeks of various activities planned, including a fashion art exhibition, charity week, and gourmet week, all running until the end of March.
However, he wasn't too surprised by the income figure. After all, this was the first time in the world that such a grand event combining food, entertainment, and fashion had been held. It was bound to attract Europe's upper class.
And this was achieved despite the limited transportation and communication at the time. For example, almost no one from the Americas came, and even Eastern Europe had few guests. If this were the railway era, Fashion Week's revenue could probably double.
Moreover, there were other major sources of income that hadn't been accounted for.
First, the real estate project.
The open space in the Tuileries Garden was developed into the "Royal Garden" residential area. The first phase included 75 villas with an average price of 48,000 livres each. Half of them had already been sold, generating over 1.8 million livres in revenue. And every day, there were people lining up to inquire about and view the properties.
It's worth noting that these houses weren't even finished yet; buyers hadn't seen the final product. Otherwise, they might have sold out by now.
But Joseph wasn't in a hurry. Using some modern real estate marketing tactics, like gradually raising prices and publicizing news like "Duke So-and-So has moved in," he estimated that by the time the houses were completed, the average price would exceed 60,000 livres.
And after the first phase was completed, along with the supporting facilities like hospitals and schools, the second phase would be almost pure profit.
Compared to the massive profits from real estate, the sales of cosmetics by "Paris Angel" and carriages by "Gem Jet" seemed insignificant.
In six days, the cosmetics company sold over 800,000 livres worth of products, while the carriage business, still in its early stages, generated just under 120,000 livres due to a severe supply shortage.
Joseph roughly estimated that by the end of the month, when Fashion Week's activities concluded, the organizing committee should make around 7 million livres. Most of this money was his—since the French government owed him 6 million livres in loans and he had also spent several hundred thousand on buying grain. As they say, even among brothers, accounts should be clear. The French government would have to repay the Crown Prince, and that money would come from Fashion Week's revenue.
As for the royal family's share, that would go directly into his pocket. After all, the Queen had agreed to let him use the Tuileries Palace for free. Of course, he'd eventually give the Queen a portion of the profits—after all, sharing wealth could pave the way for future endeavors.
And the income from the "Royal Garden" development was entirely Joseph's, as he was the sole developer. The land for the Tuileries Garden had cost him 50,000 livres—back then, it was just empty space, but now it had become the most luxurious residential area in Paris.
All in all, after the hard work of organizing Fashion Week, Joseph's net income would be around 10 million livres.
With this money, he could purchase more grain from overseas to prepare for the impending famine.
Joseph continued to review the detailed income report from Fashion Week.
Among all the projects, the highest revenue came from the sale of clothing, shoes, hats, and jewelry, including store rent, totaling 1.47 million livres. Based on a commission rate of 15-25%, Fashion Week had so far sold over 6 million livres worth of fashion and jewelry!
Surprisingly, the second-highest revenue came from the seemingly insignificant amusement hall.
The 75 machines inside the Tuileries Palace and 30 machines outside had brought in over 800,000 livres in just six days!
On average, each machine earned 1,200 livres per day!
Joseph suddenly thought, "Why bother with industrial or commercial ventures? These machines are making money much faster!"
But he also knew that these game machines made so much money because they were new and exciting, and because the people attending Fashion Week were extremely wealthy. When they got caught up in the fun, they didn't care how much they spent.
Given time, the novelty would wear off, and with economic considerations, such high revenue wouldn't last.
Moreover, Joseph didn't want the French people to become financially strained from being addicted to these games. He decided that after Fashion Week, he would keep only a dozen machines at Versailles and send the rest to the colonies.
The next highest income sources were accommodation, the Eden Amusement Park, special services, and dining...
Joseph asked Flesselles a few more questions about Fashion Week's operations, but soon heard the sound of music outside, signaling that the next fashion show would begin in about ten minutes. Flesselles had to get back to work, so the revenue report was concluded.
As Joseph looked out at the bustling Fashion Week scene, he began planning how to maximize the benefits of this grand event.
In fact, beyond the direct economic income, he was even more interested in the intangible benefits of Fashion Week.
For example, its enormous contribution to enhancing France's image.
When the guests returned home, they would undoubtedly tell everyone about the grandeur of Fashion Week and the prosperity of Paris. This would attract additional investment and talented individuals who longed for such a comfortable environment.
Once Fashion Week's influence was established, it could serve as a foundation for hosting events like the "European Expo" and various award ceremonies, further enhancing France's international standing and attracting more investment and talent.
Moreover, the total sales of various garments at this Fashion Week exceeded 4 million livres, with a significant portion coming from Lyon.
Previously, due to the lack of competitiveness in France's textile industry and the reduced tariffs from the Eden Treaty, Lyon's textile industry was on the brink of collapse.
Historically, the mass unemployment of Lyon's textile workers was one of the sparks that ignited the French Revolution.
But thanks to Fashion Week's promotion, French clothing would now be in high demand—even if France's textile technology couldn't match Britain's, the popularity of French fashion could compensate for the high cost of materials.
Of course, most families still made their own clothes from fabric, and the ready-to-wear market was still very small, mostly concentrated in the lowest segments.
But Joseph was confident that with some promotional efforts, he could significantly increase sales of ready-to-wear clothing.
This would help sustain France's textile industry until it was strong enough to compete with Britain.
End of Chapter
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