The Beginning of Cruel Competition

Vienna in June was lush with greenery and blooming flowers, looking like a paradise on earth—though, of course, that was impossible; it would be more accurate to say that about 21st-century Vienna.

Once June arrived, the competition between supermarkets intensified, and traditional grocery stores were caught in the crossfire, forced to close their doors!

The bustling city of Vienna suddenly became much more desolate. Walking down the streets, one could see advertisements for shop transfers plastered everywhere, with only a few scattered small stores still operating.

It wasn't just the small shops selling daily necessities that were struggling; many newly opened supermarkets were also facing a choice: pivot to a new business or shut down!

However, this could not stump the capitalists. Since selling daily necessities was a loss, they would sell something else, adopting the supermarket model—fixed pricing!

Some set up clothing malls, others started buffets, and still others...

Relying on the popularity they had previously accumulated, business flourished for a time, which encouraged even more people to join in, throwing much of Vienna's retail industry into chaos.

Yet, none of this affected Robert! Kotei was now well-funded, and Robert was full of confidence; he did not yet know that he had already been targeted by the Falcon.

"Mr. Cameron, how much longer do you think it will take to end this war?" Robert asked, brimming with high spirits.

"If the current situation continues, perhaps by next month, the number of supermarkets in Vienna will decrease by a third, and in half a year, it will be halved again. By then, everyone will be exhausted, and only those with deep pockets will survive. Once the competitors are thinned out, this price war will stop!" Cameron analyzed.

"No, the shareholders will have objections to such long-term losses, and it has already spread to the department stores, which will affect our IPO plans!" Robert rejected this suggestion.

"Then we have no choice but to intensify the price war, though our losses will be significant!" Cameron frowned and said.

"Then lower the prices further. I want to end this battle within three months. At any cost, wipe out those small fry, and then we can earn back the money we lost!" Robert said viciously.

Robert then smiled knowingly, having thought of a clever plan: "The retail price of goods in the supermarkets is now lower than our current procurement cost. You can secretly send people to purchase from other supermarkets."

"This will both strike at our opponents and lower our procurement costs! Remember to do it secretly; if they find out and follow suit, it will be troublesome."

"Very well, sir. As you wish, I will lower the prices by another ten percent today; perhaps that will scare off a few small fry!" Cameron said with a smile.

The retail market was once again filled with wailing. Because Volvo was large in scale, most of its products were required to be printed with "Volvo Exclusive."

To avoid exposure, goods bought from Volvo had to be repackaged. After trying it, Robert found it too troublesome and had to give up!

Then, other supermarkets suffered a terrible blow and incurred heavy losses, but Ferdinand soon discovered that Kotei's procurement from the Shineway Food Group had decreased!

Ferdinand smiled knowingly, thinking to himself: "Robert is courting death. He will soon learn what it means to be the target of everyone's arrows!"

Volvo could do it because its scale was large enough to distribute the costs across various regions, and it was only targeting Kotei; even if exposed, Ferdinand could handle it.

Do not underestimate those small capitalists; if they all moved together, even Ferdinand would have to be wary.

Ferdinand did not hesitate; he simply had news spread that Kotei's procurement had decreased. He believed that anyone who wasn't a fool would know there was something wrong with that.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before shrewd capitalists followed suit, sending people directly to Kotei department stores to clear out stock, leaving Cameron in a frantic mess.

Capitalists with connections even used their influence to cause trouble for Kotei, such as frequently cutting off water and electricity to Kotei's department store locations.

Of course, there was no lack of thugs popping up to cause trouble, and in the heat of the moment, there were even casualties.

Everyone knew that the more Kotei department stores sold, the more they lost, so they tacitly aimed their targets at the department stores—though this was certainly not without Ferdinand's secret guidance!

In just half a month, bombs were thrown at Robert's home twice, he was ambushed on the road three times, and members of the Hurd family were not spared from being visited either.

Employees of the Kotei department store company were also implicated; many were beaten with clubs, and resignation requests were countless—if they weren't approved, they simply quit.

As expected of qualified capitalists, the Hurd family didn't seem to be encountering this for the first time; they were somewhat accustomed to it and reacted immediately.

They strengthened security measures and used their connections to pressure the police department, and the chaos was quickly quelled, though their already poor reputation now became even more foul.

To settle this trouble, in just one month, Kotei paid a high price of 200,000 pounds.

The losses from the supermarkets were only average, amounting to a mere 40,000-plus pounds over half a month. But the losses from the department stores were greater; now that foot traffic had plummeted, they had also entered a state of loss.

Of course, the largest expenditure was naturally public relations! To find connections, one must spend money! If one encountered such a fat sheep and didn't take a bite, could they even be considered an official of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

Of course, this matter wasn't over. Although the authorities had stepped in to suppress it, the competition was still ongoing! Now, Kotei was losing money not only in its supermarkets but also in its department stores. With money only going out and none coming in, no one could withstand it!

James was forced to come out of retirement, and he quickly stabilized the department store company. He knew they had been targeted; otherwise, if no one had been guiding it, how could everyone have aimed their targets at the department stores instead of the supermarkets?

The old hand James quickly locked onto the target, looked at Robert, and said: "Robert, prepare to close the department stores. We concede!"

"Why, Uncle? They are about to reach their breaking point, which is why they are acting so crazily!" Robert said, unwilling to give up.

"The opponent hasn't even exerted their full strength, yet they have already left us severely wounded. If we continue, I fear the Hurd family will cease to exist!" James said with a sigh.

"Are you saying the Kohary family has made a move against us?" Robert asked uncertainly.

James shook his head and said: "Not yet, otherwise you and I wouldn't be sitting here right now! I estimate that at most, it was that fellow Ferdinand who pulled the strings, and what happens next is anyone's guess!"

It wasn't that Ferdinand didn't want to make a move; it was mainly out of concern for his reputation. If he made a move now, wouldn't that be telling the world that he was the one behind it?

However, this did not mean that Ferdinand would stand idly by.

He would not strike unless necessary, but when he did, it would be fatal!