( Wade's POV )
Sitting inside his luxurious office, Wade, the leader of the Green Jade Merchant Group, reviewed the report on the upcoming White Tiger Group event with a suppressed sigh.
On one hand, he respected Shane for his ruthless business acumen and the hype he was able to generate around the event, while on the other hand, Wade couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for the lost opportunity, as he knew that if he had negotiated the deal with Leo Skyshard slightly better, it would be him organizing this high-profile event today instead of Shane.
*Creek*
Just as he finished reading the report, his assistant stormed into his office, a serious expression on her face as she said, " Mr. Wade, the leaders of the Purple Springs Group, the Black Tortoise Group, and the Blue Ocean Group are all requesting information on the White Tiger Group's latest activities. What are your orders, sir?"
*Scoff*
Listening to her question, Wade could not help but scoff, as he had long expected this reaction from the other major Merchant Group leaders.
In the vast and competitive Empire, seven major business conglomerates held significant power, with each being on par with one another in terms of market share and sales.
These seven groups were :
1. White Tiger Group
2. Green Jade Group
3. Purple Springs Group
4. Black Tortoise Group
5. Blue Ocean Group
6. Yellow Daisy Group
7. Pink Lotus Group
Hence, whenever one of these influential groups made a significant move, it sent ripples throughout the entire business community as the balance of power between all seven major groups was quite delicate.
With all seven groups having immense cash reserves to burn through to create short term price wars, whenever a major group tried to disrupt the market and tried to greedily capture additional market share, the others responded in kind by launching a price war, however, nobody really liked launching a price war, as it was essentially a race to the bottom.
With the White Tiger Group recently looking poised to make a bold and major move, it caused the other conglomerates to feel uneasy, which was why some of them had turned to Wade for advice, as Wade's own moves during the past two months were extremely questionable.
"Sir, in my opinion, we need to respond to their inquiries. Without doing so, we won't be able to justify our recent actions….
As per your instructions, we have already offloaded all our alchemy-based product stocks over the past two months, reducing our inventory to a near zero quantity.
Instead, we have started procuring weapons, armor, and other items in bulk, completely changing our store's strategy, which is causing the others to raise an eyebrow" the assistant explained, as Wade stroked his chin, contemplating the advice.
Wade had a clear understanding of the impending market disruption after his meeting with Leo Skyshard and Ben Faulkner.
Their innovative products were poised to shake up the industry, and Wade had taken preemptive measures to minimize potential losses to his group by offloading all his existing stock, as he aimed to stay ahead of the curve.
Naturally, the other major merchant groups had taken notice of Wade's strategic moves. Those who reached out to him today had likely already connected the dots, realizing that his decision to offload stock over the past two months was probably linked to the upcoming White Tiger Group event.
"Mr. Wade," the assistant continued, "if we ignore their requests, it could raise further suspicion and they might start probing deeper, which could jeopardize our position. Providing a carefully crafted response might buy us some time and keep them off our trail." she suggested, as she nervously waited for Wade's response.
Wade nodded thoughtfully. He understood the delicate balance of power among the major conglomerates better than anyone else and how any misstep at this stage could lead to catastrophic consequences for the future of the Green Jade Group.
The White Tiger Group, with their new product line was already poised in Wade's opinion to become the biggest group around, surpassing the combined might of the other six groups.
However, Wade spotted the opportunity amidst this crisis to break free from the shackles of the 7 major groups and become the second strongest merchant group around after this market disruption, surpassing the other five groups just like the White Tiger did.
Having strategically offloaded all the high margin alchemy products, Wade had changed the entire business model of his group, pivoting them from being an all products shop to becoming a primarily weapons distribution shop, as he knew that in the future the only viable business was going to be the weapons and armor business, while all else products would become practically worthless.
However, the threat was not yet over and while he had offloaded the alchemical products, for him to come out of this bloodbath as a profitable firm, Wade knew that he needed to play his cards right to maintain his edge.
"Alright," Wade said finally.
"Draft a response. We need to acknowledge their concerns without revealing too much.
Emphasize that our recent actions were part of a routine inventory adjustment and nothing more. We need to keep them guessing." Wade said, as he decided to keep the other Merchant Group leaders on the edge of their seats so that they could not really figure out what exactly was going on, until it was too late to act.
The assistant, having received her instructions nodded and quickly got to work, crafting a message that would placate the other groups without giving away any crucial information.
The business world was a battlefield, and Wade knew that the survival of his merchant group depended on its ability to stay one step ahead of the competition.
As the assistant prepared the response, Wade's mind already raced ahead, planning his next moves in the ever-evolving game of trade wars.
*******
Meanwhile, the leaders of the other conglomerates were not sitting idle. Each of them conducted their own investigations, trying to uncover the truth behind the White Tiger Group's activities.
The tension in the business world was palpable, as everyone waited with bated breath to see what the next move would be.