Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 351: Opening the Store

The meeting between Ruby Sullivan and Alex on Sunday went smoothly. After visiting the company to see Nirvana’s other products, he was very satisfied, although he expressed doubts about Ruby’s bold idea, he never shied away from taking risks.

However, the cooperation terms proposed by Ruby were quite stringent, and some matters required Alex to discuss with headquarters before finalizing, but Ruby was confident about the matter.

Now that Nirvana’s online store sales are stable and have gained a certain degree of recognition, Ruby felt it was time to start setting up physical stores.

According to local buying habits, almost all online stores would have a major promotion on Singles’ Day. Nirvana would not be an exception, but they wouldn’t make any price adjustments, instead opting to increase some giveaways, double points, and other sales strategies.

One of the standards of top brands is retaining value, and one must withstand this perfectly.

To handle this online shopping frenzy, everyone will definitely be busy. Ruby recently watched various influencer live streams and noticed that other shop owners also help with packaging shipments, so the physical store opening should not coincide with Singles’ Day.

Having lived abroad for several years, Ruby has some fondness for Christmas, so she decided to open the store on December 18th, just in time for a Christmas shopping spree, giving many men a place to buy gifts for their girlfriends.

Additionally, the physical store will offer some products unavailable online to attract foot traffic.

Ruby has already selected several malls but hasn’t gone to negotiate yet as she’s a bit hesitant.

In Ariston, there are only two or three major mall owners.

One is Tyler Aldrin’s Thorne Plaza. Since he has a feud with Ethan Sterling, cooperation is out of the question. The other is The Sterling Group’s The Sovereign, acquired last year. Though it’s only a chain mall in Ariston, its scale and quality are impeccable, almost encompassing all international brand counters.

But Ruby wasn’t inclined to take advantage of The Sterling Group over this.

She had Howard investigate, and none of The Sovereign’s malls had available storefronts, though some are nearing the end of their lease periods, but the timing isn’t right. If she approached Ethan about it, he could certainly find a way to arrange something, but it would mean displacing someone, which would require compensation, making it unfeasible.

The last option was Lustra Shopping Center. It was said that a batch of stores had recently expired leases and were in renewal talks, so she could discuss entry, but unexpectedly, they made exorbitant demands, unless they paid double the rent, discussions weren’t possible.

According to Howard’s analysis, the person in charge was definitely taking kickbacks on this; otherwise, they wouldn’t have raised the price so much, clearly not wanting them to get involved.

Ruby was still considering buying a house next year, and if spending on the physical store went too high, it would definitely affect the year-end bonuses. Besides, who could endure being extorted openly? She thought about it and asked Howard to find information on the CEO of Lustra Group.

"Instead of talking to subordinates, it’s better to go directly to the boss."

"That makes sense..." Howard smiled tactfully, "But they might not meet with you."

"No worries, I’m Ethan Sterling’s wife, after all. They might give me a chance for a meal, right?" Ruby smiled cunningly, her little schemes in full view.

In Ariston, the identity of Mrs. Sterling was useful many times, and she never considered giving up such a good resource.

"No problem." Howard felt relieved when he heard this. He immediately set about investigating and arranging a meeting time.

In the afternoon, Ruby went downstairs to accompany Sasha Shaw for a smoke, casually taking a break.

Indeed, if there’s anyone whose cigarette smoke Ruby can tolerate, it’s Sasha Shaw alone in the world.

After learning that Ruby planned to prioritize the physical store, Sasha made a rather bold suggestion, "How about we open our physical stores together?"

Her first collection of ready-to-wear clothing was originally themed around Nirvana, and they might have more collaborations in the future. Displaying them together might yield better results.

Sasha wasn’t just being impulsive; she had her reasons.

"I recently went to a beef noodle shop and found they had a small bar inside selling desserts and drinks from another brand. Even though the owner might be the same person, this combination was really good."

Ruby didn’t immediately agree.

Even though she was willing to invest in Sasha and ask for her help, she hadn’t considered doing business together. There have been so many instances where friendships deteriorated because of business partnerships. Sasha meant more to her than ten Nirvanas.

Seeing Ruby’s hesitation, Sasha understood that her suggestion was sudden, so she patted Ruby’s shoulder and said nonchalantly, "I just think this arrangement is pretty good. If you have concerns, let’s forget it."

Ruby rolled her eyes at her, "What concerns could I have? I’m just worried that if something goes wrong in the business, you’ll blame me."

Sasha frowned and blew a puff of smoke in her face, "Do I look like that type of person to you?"

"Not... really?" Ruby replied with a mischievous smile.

People only say what fits the situation; without the right scenario, it’s hard to tell if someone will change, but judging by Sasha’s usual behavior, she certainly wouldn’t.

Sasha gave her a playful slap on the head, "You little rascal, say that again."

"Ouch." Ruby removed her bear paw, "I’m a boss now, my hairstyle matters!"

As the two started to joke around, it felt like they were back in college, forgetting they were both small-business owners and nearly thirty, ignoring the exquisite makeup and proper attire, and the slightly precarious high heels.

"Stop, stop!" Ruby panted, hands on her hips and waving her hand, "We’re both getting old, what are we doing fooling around?"

Sasha’s face was red, her situation not much better than Ruby’s, "Who started it first?"

"Certainly you."

"So what if it was me?"

Sasha rolled her eyes, really wanting to give her another smack.

"Alright, seriously, I agree to open the stores together, but we need to draft an agreement beforehand."

"Is it that complicated?"

"It’s not complicated, as long as you promise that business won’t ruin our friendship."

Upon hearing this, Sasha nodded, "You’re right. You sneaky little girl. I should sign an agreement as my insurance."

Ruby rolled her eyes again.

Howard quickly compiled the information on Lustra Group’s CEO, Tobias Townsend, the youngest of the Townsend Family. The Townsends were once royalty, and President Townsend Sr. was among the first wave of Hong Kong merchants to return and develop domestically. In his personal life, he was very traditional, having one primary wife and three concubines. Tobias, the youngest, was born to the fourth concubine. It was said she was of great beauty but met an untimely death in a car accident when Tobias was fifteen.

Afterwards, Tobias was sent abroad, only returning two years ago to take over business in the mainland. He was very low-key, which is why Ruby had never met him at any gatherings before.

Ruby arranged to meet with him on Wednesday at three in the afternoon for an hour, to have a cup of coffee together.