A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 97

Epicura's report was written in a format that added its own opinions to the contents of White Shark's report.

It quoted White Shark's criticisms verbatim and immediately expressed Epicura's stance alongside them.

For instance, it went like this:

<Toscano Garden does not add salt when boiling pasta.>

Next to this section, Epicura’s response, enclosed in a red box, followed.

<We sincerely apologize. This was a cost-saving measure, but we acknowledge it was an unwise decision that led to a decline in quality, and we will work to improve it.>

<However, this may shorten the lifespan of the pots, increasing the replacement frequency and resulting in an estimated annual additional cost of $7 million.>

Similar comments were appended to other criticisms as well.

For example, the critique, "There is not a single dish that matches the menu's appearance," was followed by this response:

<We agree on the need to ensure consistency in service. We will introduce a training program to confirm that culinary staff fully understand the appearance of dishes on the menu.>

<This is expected to incur an additional annual cost of $60 million. We deeply reflect on having neglected staff training for the sake of cost-saving.>

As one read through the report, Epicura's intent became clear.

For example, regarding the critique, "It's an Italian restaurant chain, yet you can't find authentic Italian cuisine," the response was:

<Most Americans are unfamiliar with authentic Italian cuisine and tend to avoid ordering it. Thus, we have developed our own menu. However, we acknowledge that marketing these as Italian cuisine may cause confusion for customers.>

<We will redesign the menu to introduce a ‘Fusion Cuisine' section and move the items in question there. The estimated cost of this measure is about $3 million.>

This report was not written to accept Shark Capital's proposals.

Rather, it highlighted the additional costs that would arise if the proposals were implemented, suggesting that their claims were out of touch with reality.

At the end of the report, it was clearly stated that implementing all of White Shark's proposals would cost nearly $100 million.

Of course, this figure was exaggerated.

Any proposal, depending on interpretation, could appear as either cost-saving or increased expenditure.

In short, this was a battle of reverse engineering.

However, this report once again became the subject of a late-night broadcast.

[Everyone, do you remember the Toscano Garden controversy?]

[The world is truly ironic. Wall Street is teaching restaurants how to cook, and restaurants are teaching Wall Street how to crunch numbers.]

Just as the hedge fund persistently nitpicked at the restaurant's cuisine and management, Epicura's nitpicking at their calculations drew laughter.

But Epicura did not stop there.

In addition to rebutting White Shark, their report included 50 additional pages, containing issues for improvement that Shark Capital had not mentioned and Epicura’s own solutions.

And surprisingly, the completeness of these solutions was quite high.

The most notable among them was undoubtedly the solution to the unlimited bread issue.

<We are considering selling leftover bread as takeaway sandwiches for a small additional ingredient cost. This will minimize losses from wasted bread while creating a new revenue source.>

The idea was to offer customers the option of having leftover bread turned into sandwiches.

Originally, Toscano Garden employees would put various ingredients into leftover bread to make instant sandwiches, and the intent was to commercialize this as a menu item.

This proposal garnered explosive public support.

Unlimited bread sandwiches? Sounds brilliant.

-I used to eat them when I worked part-time there; I still think about them sometimes.

-What’s in them? There’s no set recipe; it’s made with leftover ingredients available that day…

—Sounds intriguing.

As if determined not to miss this momentum, Epicura immediately began trial sales of the unlimited bread sandwiches at select stores.

The result was a huge success.

In hindsight, it was only natural.

This unlimited bread sandwich service was a menu item scheduled to launch years later, and it had been wildly popular even then.

A menu that had already proven successful in the past was introduced during the height of the unlimited bread controversy.

The impact was explosive.

People were already feeling nostalgic about Toscano Garden due to the public debates surrounding the unlimited bread issue.

That nostalgia alone wasn’t enough to motivate a visit, but the sandwich provided the perfect excuse.

Demand surged.

However, only a handful of stores actually sold the sandwiches.

As a result, long lines began to form in front of those locations, creating quite the spectacle.

A chain on the decline suddenly transformed into a must-visit foodie destination.

This dramatic turnaround had a significant impact on shareholder sentiment.

– Who would’ve thought this place would become a hotspot?!

– Looks like Whitmer was really prepared this time.

– Is this the start of a second golden age?

– Does this mean the stock price will go up too?

Until now, Epicura shareholders’ trust in Whitmer had been at rock bottom.

It wasn’t surprising, considering Whitmer had been responsible for dragging the stock price down for two years straight.

But now Whitmer was humbly acknowledging past mistakes and promising a fresh start, with Toscano Garden showing signs of a grand revival as the first spark of that transformation.

A dramatic change within just a few weeks.

If a CEO can demonstrate this kind of skill right after declaring a turnaround, could the management of new brands also show promise?

This sense of hope slowly took root among the shareholders.

The tide of shareholder sentiment began to shift again.

With only 30 days left until the shareholder meeting, the reversal created an unpredictable outcome.

***

Meanwhile, Pierce and Whitmer had been on a business trip for several days.

Their goal was to persuade major institutional investors and proxy advisory firms.

Today, Whitmer passionately articulated Epicura’s long-term vision in a confident tone.

"Hedge funds are obsessed with short-term profits. While cost-cutting may boost immediate performance, it cannot guarantee sustainable growth."

"That’s a valid point… but isn’t it true that Epicura hasn’t delivered impressive long-term results either?"

"Exactly. That’s why we’ve decided to completely overhaul our management policies and philosophy this time."

Whitmer declared a break with the past and emphasized the significance of a new turning point. Then, Whitmer began the full-scale persuasion effort.

"From a long-term perspective, you can see entirely different solutions to the same problem. Take the unlimited bread issue, for example. It’s universally acknowledged that unlimited bread is a major source of waste. If the hedge fund's idea is to reduce waste immediately by introducing a rationing system, we sought an ingenious way to win the hearts of our customers. The result of that effort is the sandwich service. This idea not only reduces waste but also creates a new revenue stream, achieving a win-win effect.”

The report was extremely useful for directly comparing the problem-solving approaches of both sides.

The solutions to the unlimited bread issue were especially stark in contrast, and Whitmer relentlessly drove this point home.

“I heard there’s a saying in Korea: ‘If the price is the same, choose the red skirt.’ It means that under the same conditions, people will choose the more appealing option."

His point was clear.

"Both approaches aim to reduce waste, but which one creates more value? That is the distinguishing factor of a long-term vision. I won’t settle for simply reducing waste—I’ll create value, like with the unlimited bread sandwiches.”

The expressions of those listening to Whitmer began to change.

It was evident from their eyes.

Their hearts were slowly leaning toward Epicura.

After the meeting, Whitmer and Pierce boarded their private jet to evaluate their progress so far.

“We started from an overwhelming disadvantage, but now we’ve caught up neck-and-neck.”

“It’s an incredible achievement. It was expected to be a sure loss.”

What once seemed like a hopeless battle had turned into an unpredictable close race.

Both of them knew well who the key figure behind this dramatic reversal was.

Goldman’s rookie analyst, Ha Si-heon.

He had cleverly hidden the true reason behind the Harbor Lobster sale by tying it to the acquisition of a new brand, packaging it as a bold investment opportunity.

He also orchestrated the brilliant counterattack against the Shark Capital report and came up with the groundbreaking unlimited bread sandwich idea.

“But why didn’t you bring him along this time? You always keep him by your side,” Whitmer asked.

Pierce gave a bitter smile in response.

“The situation has changed. Right now, the entire nation’s eyes are on us. A single slip of the tongue could create uncontrollable repercussions, and you know as well as I do that his language can be quite… rough.”

“Ah… that’s true,” Whitmer admitted.

After all, Si-heon was the one who, during their very first meeting, casually remarked, “Black customers don’t bring in profit.”

In a situation where every single vote counted, it was too risky to let such controversial remarks slip.

Still, Whitmer’s face betrayed a sense of regret.

“Couldn’t he improve with some guidance and discipline? He’s too talented to be sidelined like this. Just look at his work on the last presentation…”

Whitmer held high hopes for Si-heon—to such an extent that he even considered entrusting him with presenting the rebuttal report.

However, Pierce vehemently opposed the idea, and ultimately, the presentation was divided between Whitmer and Pierce.

Yet even after the fact, Whitmer couldn’t stop bringing it up.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that if Si-heon had delivered the presentation, his unique speaking skills could have yielded even better results.

But Pierce remained firm.

“He’s only been with us for a year. No matter how talented he is, mistakes are inevitable during a debut. Especially in a situation like this, where the entire nation is watching, maintaining composure would be incredibly challenging.”

“Don’t you think his courage might see him through?”

“The risks are too high. A single small mistake could lead to nationwide embarrassment, and the stakes for this presentation are far too significant to take that chance.”

“Hmm… you might have a point.”

Whitmer reluctantly nodded in agreement, but he continued to subtly bring up ways to utilize Ha Si-heon.

Each time, Pierce would object, citing Si-heon’s lack of experience.

“It’s still too early.”

However—

Despite his outward stance, Pierce wasn’t truly worried about Si-heon making mistakes.

In fact, Pierce knew Si-heon’s abilities better than anyone else.

‘That guy wouldn’t make a rookie mistake.’

Pierce’s concern stemmed from something entirely different.

‘He’s planning something…’

The way events were unfolding was something no one could have predicted.

Explosive public interest, the issue turning into a nationwide sensation—

A shareholder showdown escalating to this level was unprecedented.

Yet, while even someone as seasoned as Pierce, with years of Wall Street experience, found himself caught off guard, Ha Si-heon alone remained utterly unfazed.

It wasn’t merely a matter of keeping a composed expression.

Pierce, who prided himself on reading people’s faces, instantly recognized it—

Si-heon wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

It was as if he had foreseen everything unfolding exactly like this.

‘No, that can’t be.’

No one could have predicted things would escalate this far.

Surely not…

And yet, Pierce’s instincts were warning him.

Si-heon might have anticipated all of this.

He might have even been waiting for this moment.

‘What is he planning?’

Si-heon’s true intentions were difficult to discern.

But Pierce’s every instinct screamed the same thing:

This lunatic is about to cause a nationwide uproar.

It had to be stopped at all costs.

If Ha Si-heon, representing Goldman, made a reckless statement during this event that had the entire nation’s attention, the fallout would be catastrophic.

If that happened, even Pierce wouldn’t be able to contain the damage.

It was just a hypothetical, but in such a scenario, Pierce would undoubtedly lose his executive position for failing to control a rookie employee.

That was why he blocked Si-heon from taking the stage.

Yet—

“All right.”

Oddly enough, Si-heon stepped back without much resistance. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Without a single word of protest, he obediently agreed.

And that, in turn, made Pierce even more uneasy.

Ha Si-heon was a walking disaster.

Not the kind that recklessly wreaked havoc, though.

From what Pierce had observed, Si-heon’s patterns of behavior were somewhat predictable.

He would always incite those around him, amplifying the situation until it reached its peak.

Only then would he make his appearance on the stage.

The fact that Si-heon was merely watching from the sidelines now…

‘Could it be…’

Was he still trying to expand the stage? To create an even larger platform?

Logically, it made no sense.

The situation had already become a nationwide spectacle. How could it possibly get any bigger?

But—

Pierce’s instincts whispered otherwise.

Si-heon wasn’t satisfied with this level of chaos.

He would only step in after creating an even greater whirlwind.

And Pierce’s instincts were right.

A few days later, Ha Si-heon said something utterly absurd.