Tokyo Reborn: Dark Superstar

Chapter 37 Secret Date
  The OEM contract was settled, and Takakura Bunta began to prepare for the sales and distribution of cosmetics.

Large companies such as Bandai, Dome, and Happinet have their own regional agents, franchised stores, directly operated stores, shopping mall counters, etc., and distribute their products nationwide through systematic distribution channels.

However, Takakura Bunta spent all his money on stocking up. He had neither the financial strength nor the time to build a nationwide sales network.

Moreover, this kind of nationwide distribution also requires a large amount of publicity and offensive assistance.

The mainstream international publicity method is to cooperate with super IP themes to create co-branded flagship products, and then bombard them through TV, radio, and print media to capture the minds of consumers.

…………

Faced with this situation, Gao Cangbuntai could only engage in "private traffic".

Bunta Takakura's "private traffic pool" is the "Shinjuku volunteers."

The volunteers in these welfare homes are all born salesmen.

They sell tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yen worth of charity drinks to female customers every day.

In this luxuriant atmosphere, selling lipstick by the way has a higher success rate compared to shopping malls, department stores, door-to-door sales and other methods.

…………

In terms of profit sharing, volunteers in Shinjuku can choose from two commission models.

The first is a fixed commission on order quantity.

There are three gears.

If you sell 1 lipstick every month, you will get a commission of 500 yen for each lipstick;

If you sell 10 lipstick every month, you will get a commission of 2000 yen for each lipstick;

If you sell 100 lipstick every month, you will get a commission of 4000 yen for each lipstick;

Every time a sales level is exceeded, the commission for each lipstick will also increase.

…………

The second type is untargeted sales commission.

The commission for each lipstick is 1%. If you sell one lipstick, you will get a commission of 1000 yen.

No indicators are set, commissions are only based on completed sales.

…………

Charity volunteers in Shinjuku.

Generally, the second mode is chosen. When selling champagne, if you see that the atmosphere is suitable, introduce it to customers by the way, and you will earn money by selling it.

Only Wang Sanji, a newcomer from Night Tokyo Charity Welfare Home, chose the first mode.

Within two weeks, Sanji had generated sales of 4900 million yen.

This made the volunteers in Shinjuku realize that this was a good side income.

As a result, this new cosmetic called "lipstick" became popular in Shinjuku due to the enthusiastic recommendation of volunteers at the welfare home...

....................................

Torai Izakaya, 2-8-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.

The streets of Shibuya, even if it is close to early morning, are still bustling with people.

This izakaya is located near the Grand Crossing in Shibuya. It is nearly full every night, mostly office workers from Tokyo.

Takakura Bunta and Goro were eating barbecue in this restaurant.

…………

“I’ll leave it to you for high-end customized cosmetics.”

"When there is an order, I will provide you with detailed debugging parameters."

Takakura Bunta ate grilled chicken legs and confirmed again with Goro sitting opposite.

"Hey! I'll definitely give it my all."

As Goro spoke, he dipped the roasted chicken skin in spicy powder, put it on top of the rice, and ate it as a rice bowl.

The chicken barbecue at Torai Izakaya is a highlight.

Mainly chicken, including chicken legs, chicken wings, chicken hearts, and chicken skin. The appearance is slightly burnt, but the meat is fresh and tender and has a compelling aroma.

…………

The two of them ate dozens of skewers of grilled chicken, and Takakura Bunta ordered another Ochazuke.

On the TV in the izakaya, TV Tokyo was playing news about the Kagoshima real estate project.

On November 1996, 11, Sumitomo Real Estate's Kagoshima apartment project stopped delivery indefinitely and became an unfinished building.

Wulang was eating roasted chicken heart, watching the news about unfinished buildings on TV, and sighed:
  "Thirty consecutive years of rising housing prices collapsed overnight. It's really sad..." At this time, a rolling news item was broadcast on TV Tokyo.

…………

"Mahiko Kondo and Seiko Matsuda secretly dating in Los Angeles."

"This is fake news! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"what?"

"Look at the rolling news content on TV Tokyo..."

"Boss, change the TV station and see if they have the same statement."

The entire izakaya suddenly became extremely noisy. People were excited, talking and talking.

The owner of the izakaya changed the remote control to several TV stations, all of which were reporting the news. TV Asahi even started a special report.

The TV channel stopped switching and was locked on TV Asahi.

....................................

In the Japanese entertainment industry, Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda are fierce rivals.

Matsuda Seiko is a super idol as famous as Nakamori Akina. Whether it is record sales or appearance, she is often compared by the media.

Fans are also divided into the "Mingcai faction" and the "Shengzi faction". The seemingly invisible competition and rivalry between the two has caused various topics.

In the past two years, Seiko Matsuda has developed strongly in music.

The two of them refused to stagger the release dates of their songs, and each time it was a musical war of tit-for-tat.

So far, Matsuda Seiko has a record of 24 consecutive singles ranking first on the Oricon chart.

Akina Nakamori has 19 singles that have topped the Oricon chart so far.

At a time when the confrontation between the "Akina Faction" and the "Son Son Faction" was in full swing, Nakamori Akina suffered a double blow from love and family.

…………

Matsuda Seiko's 38th single, "Missing You~", has stayed at the top of the Oricon weekly chart for seven weeks, with cumulative sales of 110.1 million copies.

This is the first album in the Japanese entertainment industry to exceed one million sales in the Heisei era.

This song is the ending theme of the TV Asahi program "Kitano Takeshi's TV Grapple" and the advertising song for Canon's photocopier product "PIXEL".

A photo of the famous actress Natsume Masako, who passed away in 1985, appeared in the advertisement.

Natsume Masako was a good friend of Matsuda Seiko during her lifetime.

Although the song is about missing a lover, the advertisement shows a deep nostalgia for a late friend.

Therefore, it caused a great response and became a big factor in the success of this single.

…………

This song was rated as one of the top ten touching RB songs in the 20th century.

"Missing You~" (I really want to see you) marked the 1996 music war between the "Mingcai School" and the "Seiko School", which ended with the "Seiko School" winning a resounding victory.

…………

Kondo Masahiko also started during this period. He went to the United States many times to date Seiko Matsuda and maintain an ambiguous relationship.

When the two spent Christmas in the United States, Kondo Masahiko complained to Matsuda Seiko many times about his girlfriend's poor skills.

"Who likes to be around that ice?"

"The number one singer in the Showa era. She can't even scream. She covers her mouth every time and pretends to be innocent all day long. It's so boring."

"I still like a warm girl like you."

....................................

Look at the breaking news in the Asahi Shimbun.

Takakura Bunta sighed inwardly as he accompanied the chazuke rice that had just been served:

"In this dark world, the behavior of artists in the entertainment industry is even more crazy and bottomless than in previous lives."

Takakura Bunta put a large spoonful of rice mixed with the soup into his mouth.

Although it is a simple tea soup and rice, the aroma can be remembered for a long time.

Wulang ate his third bowl of rice, drank hot wheat tea, watched the news on TV, and said:
  "Ms. Akina Nakamori must be feeling very uncomfortable. I remember that some time ago, her mother was seriously ill in the hospital..."

Takakura Bunta put down the rice spoon in his hand and said to himself: "Oops!!"

He immediately took out his Nokia 3310 and dialed Kanda Keiko's number.

(End of this chapter)