Chapter 852: Lawsuit Filed

[Chapter 852: Lawsuit Filed]

For Eric, last night's indulgence was simply a small interlude amidst his busy work schedule, and he didn't mind signing a check for one million dollars. After all, just like the math problem he had posed to Gisele, one million dollars felt to him akin to one dollar for an average person, given his vast fortune.

But for the girls, this check represented something entirely different.

As Eric left the apartment, Qusie immediately turned to Gisele Bundchen with an eager expression, staring at the million-dollar check in Gisele's hand. Unable to contain her excitement, she reached for it, saying, "Gisele, it's really a million dollars! Can I see it?"

Gisele show casing the check, replied, "Of course it's real; do you think Eric would give me a fake check?"

Qusie didn't dare snatch it away and returned to her spot at the bar window, but she couldn't help but correct Gisele, "That's for all of us."

Gisele sat back down at the bar, shaking her head, "Not quite. Eight hundred thousand is for all of us, and the other two hundred thousand is Ale and my spending money, as you just heard."

Qusie rolled her eyes and tentatively asked, "So you and Ale are still going to share that eight hundred thousand with us?"

"Of course," Gisele replied. "We played the game last night, too."

During their conversation, another girl woke up and sat up. Upon seeing the check in Gisele's hand, a wave of excited screams soon erupted, and all the girls woke up, rushing to the bar and surrounding Gisele.

"Wow, one million!"

"Eric really cashed in on the bet!"

"How much does that mean for each of us?"

"I think there's also shopping and travel involved, right?"

"What about a private jet?"

"Duh, the private jet is obviously at the airport; it can't park in the house!"

"..."

Looking at the chattering girls around her, Gisele suddenly recalled Eric's last words before he left.

Being new to the industry, even with Eric's support, she couldn't touch the elite circles at the top. From her few encounters, she realized that the likes of Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, who had achieved great success, would never accept them.

Most of the girls around her were of a similar age to hers and could be considered a promising batch of newcomers in the industry. That's why they were able to bond so well. If that were the case, why shouldn't she build her own circle? And of course, she would become the 'big sister' Eric had mentioned. As long as Eric continued to support her, her future wouldn't be limited to just being a supermodel. She was sure that these girls could eventually become her allies.

Quickly calculating in her mind, Gisele clapped her hands on the bar, surveyed the room, and adopted the same commanding tone she used when correcting Alessandra. She raised her voice, saying, "OK, everyone, shut up."

The girls paused, clearly understanding the cue to stop their discussions.

Gisele was pleased with the effect. "Eight hundred thousand dollars and a private jet round-the-world trip -- Eric has promised. If everyone's passports are in order, we can leave for anywhere this afternoon."

Gentle cheers followed, and Gisele continued, "But you all know the rules. First, no one is allowed to blab about last night's activities. Otherwise, trust me, a quick call from Eric and the agency will terminate your contracts immediately. Your careers will be over."

Although Gisele came off as a bit overbearing, the girls obediently nodded.

Even though they were young, having secured contracts with big international modeling agencies like Elite and IMG meant these girls weren't clueless novices. Gossip about last night wouldn't benefit them; after all, models who dared to reveal industry secrets usually vanished from the limelight.

However, someone quickly raised an objection: "Gisele, if we don't say anything, the agency won't agree to our trip, right?"

That was indeed a valid point.

Gisele thought for a moment, daring to voice an idea. "How about this -- I'll personally call the boss of the agency to talk. As long as they arrange everything, not even the agent responsible for us can question it."

"Gisele, do you really think the bosses will listen to you?"

"Of course. Eric said he would intervene directly if they disagreed."

Gisele nodded with confidence, noting that the other girls still looked hesitant. She understood that the agency heads seemed like distant, untouchable powers in their eyes, but she didn't feel like trying to explain that.

Since Eric had shown interest in her and Alessandra, their nurturing approach from the two major agencies demonstrated his influence was significant. For instance, any modeling agency wanting their models in the Victoria's Secret fashion show had to clear it with Eric first.

"Gisele, do you think I can just get my share directly? I mean, I'm running low on cash, and I still owe rent."

The voice was quiet and hesitant, coming from Fernanda Tavares.

Gisele had already been displeased with Fernanda's earlier attempt to catch Eric's attention, and responded, "Sure, I'll give you your share, but you won't be able to join us on the trip."

Fernanda felt Gisele's displeasure and realized that being pushed out of the small circle would be a bigger loss, so she quickly shook her head, "Forget it, I don't want it."

Gisele was taken aback for a moment but then smiled, showcasing her grace. "Smart choice."

Others who had similar thoughts dropped them after overhearing the exchange.

Fifty thousand dollars in cash was undoubtedly a significant amount for them at that time. If they could secure it, they certainly wouldn't spend it all at once. Though they were young, they were clear on how to choose between money and opportunity.

Seeing that everyone was content, Gisele wrinkled her nose in distaste and casually reached to pull a few notes from Fernanda's jutting chest, squeezing them lightly. "You all look and smell like a bunch of natives who just emerged from the Amazon jungle. Go shower and clean up this place."

In their apartment, there were always plenty of bathrooms. The girls finally realized their disheveled appearance and erupted into laughter as they scurried into various bathrooms.

Securing her position as the 'big sister', Gisele felt satisfied. She picked up the phone on the bar, found the contact list, and began dialing the numbers for several agency bosses.

Due to work commitments, the girls all held multiple passports. They were headed to Tokyo that afternoon -- a destination chosen by Gisele, of course.

Although the girls had more opportunities to travel abroad compared to regular folks, those were mainly for fashion weeks, where they'd work over ten hours a day under the company's guidance, collapsing into bed without any time for sightseeing. This marked the first occasion they could truly let loose.

...

Eric had a good sense of what was happening when John Casablancas, CEO of Elite, called him personally. He just smiled and moved on.

He had initially planned to finalize Marvel's specific scheme within a week. However, it became evident that a week was far too short. There were simply too many discussions to have. Since Marvel's decisions affected Firefly's film layout for at least the next twenty years, Eric also refused to rush into anything. Therefore, he stayed in New York until late April.

...

On the other side, teams from Firefly Electronics and Amazon were remarkably effective. Just three days after confirming the hunger marketing plan, it began to roll out.

Due to production limitations and explosive sales, physical retail store prices for the Fireflyer player had skyrocketed to $329. This pricing rule came after Firefly Electronics had firmly stopped supplying certain retail stores that were inflating prices without hesitation.

Even so, the Fireflyers in physical stores remained in short supply.

Against this backdrop, Amazon initiated a scheme to release 5,000 Fireflyers every three days at the original price of $299, instantly capturing a lot of consumers' attention.

According to statistics from Yahoo, by early 1997, there were already 5 million Internet users engaging in online payments in North America. Although this number was still insignificant compared to the total number of Internet users, it outperformed all other overseas regions.

Consequently, the first round of Amazon's sales event sold out all 5,000 Fireflyers in just two and a half hours.

With the backing of several companies, a multitude of media outlets in North America extensively reported on the event.

Subsequent rounds of sales saw timeframes being sliced in half.

For the third round, it shrank to just ten minutes.

While hunger marketing wasn't a novel technique, this marked the first time it had been publicly showcased and sparked societal discourse on such a scale.

With the increasing buzz, more members of the public, not just those interested in the Fireflyer, inevitably began to notice this revolutionary music player. The originally skeptical potential consumer group also involved themselves in the purchase frenzy.

When the fourth round of Fireflyer sales began, the entire transaction lasted merely a minute.

Amazon's online store even experienced lag due to the sheer volume of incoming customers.

The explosive success of online sales also boosted physical sales. Although the price was $30 higher than on Amazon, scarcity drove most retailers to find that as soon as a new batch of Fireflyers hit the shelves, they were sold out just as quickly. Inevitably, this led to a surge of scalpers.

Soon after, some media outlets began to question if this was a joint scheme between Amazon and Firefly Electronics, claiming that the sales figures for Fireflyer in Amazon's online store were far less than advertised.

Amazon swiftly clarified the situation without revealing customer privacy, sharing the transaction records of each sale event directly on their homepage.

The Fireflyer's continuous out-of-stock status did annoy some users. Firefly Electronics rallied for public relations efforts, extensively explaining the causes of the Fireflyer's production limitations on Yahoo's portal. They even launched a dedicated product homepage providing real-time updates on the progress of the new factory and other product-related news, occasionally engaging fans with entertaining contests.

Through this close and collaborative effort, the Fireflyer brand image gradually solidified in consumers' minds. Amazon emerged as the biggest external beneficiary in this process. Thanks to the success of hunger marketing, Amazon's average traffic surged by 50% in just two weeks. Jeff Bezos promptly adjusted the original plan to seize the opportunity to introduce more product types.

...

Beyond Firefly Electronics and Amazon, Yahoo, which operated an online music store, also recorded impressive sales figures.

Despite not having a Fireflyer, the Yahoo Music Box software allowed users to play purchased music directly on their personal computers, even offering burning features.

Thus, after the Yahoo music store and the Fireflyer launched their sales simultaneously, propelled by the digital soundtrack of Titanic and popular artists like the Backstreet Boys and Madonna, the Yahoo music store amassed 1 million song sales within just five days -- far exceeding everyone's expectations in the industry.

Prior to this, even the most ambitious forecasts suggested that the Yahoo music store would take at least two months to reach its first million song sales; in reality, it took only five days.

At this sales pace, the Yahoo music store could easily generate over $70 million in revenue in its first year, a substantial figure that significantly contributed to Yahoo's overall revenue.

After all, Yahoo needed to present a strong annual report before its initial public offering.

The soaring sales figures for the Yahoo music store were a source of anxiety for major record companies.

Although CD burners for personal computers had just emerged, the CD burning capabilities offered by Yahoo's music box software effectively threatened to disrupt the traditional record industry's ecosystem.

Previously, a music album commonly sold for around $20, but the Yahoo music store essentially halved this price.

Even with profit-sharing rules, product companies earned about $7 per digital album sold through the Yahoo music store, not much less than they would gain from selling a physical product, yet major record labels still felt a significant threat.

Two weeks later, Sony Music, along with two other record giants, BMG and EMI, filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court, citing that the production and sale of MP3 players would promote music piracy.

*****

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