Developing Volvo

Major Events Historical Moments:

In 1882, an accord was reached in Vienna among Germany, Austria, and Italy. This led to the signing of the Treaty of the Triple Alliance on May 20 of that year, signifying the establishment of the Triple Alliance.

On September 30, the world's inaugural hydraulic power plant commenced operations. The dam on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, represented the pioneering achievement of the world's first hydraulic power plant.

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On January 14, Ferdinand convened a meeting with his managers to discuss future business plans. The gathering brought together heads from both the new ventures Ferdinand had established and the traditional businesses of the Koháry family.

During the meeting, Ferdinand recognized the untapped potential in some of the traditional businesses. He identified numerous areas where these businesses could complement each other, fostering mutual support and growth.

For instance, akin to many aristocratic families, the Koháry family possessed its private wine estate catering exclusively to family members. Ferdinand, an occasional wine enthusiast himself, couldn't help but find the taste exquisite. However, he considered it wasteful to maintain an extensive staff solely for the benefit of a few family members.

Ferdinand saw an opportunity to expand the scale of the wine estate and venture into the market. Even if an increase in output slightly affected the taste, Ferdinand was open to selling the wine, ensuring its value remained competitive.

At the beginning of the year, the estate, which previously sold its wheat and potatoes externally, now supplied its products exclusively to the family's factories.

Expanding further, Ferdinand envisioned establishing a slaughterhouse for the cattle and sheep in the pastures, channeling the meat directly to the supermarkets for sale.

Another prospect involved cultivating the land near his city to grow vegetables for self-production and sale.

The extravagant lifestyles of the European aristocrats were often beyond imagination. In Ferdinand's case, he employed over a dozen private maids, and his culinary team rivaled those of future five-star hotels. The castle housing him was staffed by over 300 individuals, and Ferdinand enjoyed the luxury of tailor-made clothing, a fleet of lavishly decorated carriages, and even a private ranch for the finest-quality milk.

Princess Clémentine's lifestyle surpassed Ferdinand's, befitting her status as a French princess.

Despite the family's income being no less than 100,000 pounds annually, rising expenses compelled the great aristocrats to transition into great capitalists. This shift in income sources became a driving force for Ferdinand to reform these extravagant habits.

Ferdinand, disgusted by these excesses, harbored a desire for change. He was determined to alter the situation, even if it meant sacrificing the aristocracy's prestige. He asserted that he would gladly trade his noble status for a more frugal existence.

However, Ferdinand didn't intend to overthrow the entire aristocratic system. Acknowledging that the bottom dictates the head, Ferdinand remained a beneficiary of the system. Publicly, he continued to support the aristocratic structure, maintaining his designated role while allowing his maid to assume the responsibilities of a secretary.

Simultaneously, as Ferdinand sought to revamp his business ventures, the retail landscape in Vienna underwent significant transformations. Grocery stores experienced dwindling profits due to stiff competition from Volvo, prompting the behind-the-scenes capitalists to shift their focus to the supermarket business.

In February, a supermarket named Tinker Bell emerged, breaking Volvo's monopoly. Subsequently, more than eighty new supermarkets, both large and small, opened in Vienna by October.

Initially, these supermarkets maintained a certain distance from each other, fostering a friendly atmosphere despite their rivalry. However, with the rise of new players in 1883, the landscape changed. Some streets witnessed the emergence of seven or eight supermarkets competing for business.

As the density of supermarkets in Vienna approached that of future times by the end of 1883, a brutal struggle ensued. Price wars became the norm, with streets flooded with discount offers, signaling the end of prosperity for all.

Despite facing challenges, Volvo, as the top player in the business, maintained profitability in its Vienna stores and expanded into Germany and Italy.

It wasn't until March 1884 that Gottfried Department Store entered the fray, transitioning into the supermarket business. Ferdinand was surprised that they had avoided a direct clash in Vienna, considering his attempts to deter larger capitalists from entering the market.

While Volvo's Vienna stores experienced losses, the impact was more pronounced in other cities, deterring conservative capitalists from venturing into the supermarket business.

Ferdinand was well aware of the background of Gottfried Department Store, with the large consortia of the Kingdom of Hungary backing it. The Koháry family was one of the key players in this consortium.

The catalyst for Gottfried's entry into the supermarket business was the involvement of Hungarian capitalists in the flour processing industry. Ferdinand, although having his flour factories, primarily for internal use, was caught off guard.

In response, Ferdinand leveraged his family connections to uncover the details. As Volvo's influence and market share expanded rapidly, Schienbein Flour Mill followed suit, further exacerbating the decline in sales of Hungarian flour in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The capitalists in the flour industry faced significant setbacks, and had Ferdinand been an ordinary man, he might have succumbed to their pressure. However, being a major Hungarian aristocrat, Ferdinand was embroiled in inner rivalries.

Many tactics were off-limits, and aside from those capitalists directly affected, others observed from the sidelines. While they supported Gottfried Department Store's move to challenge Volvo's retail monopoly, Ferdinand took the time to regroup. If the Hungarian consortium wasn't the primary force behind this push, he remained unfazed by the challenge posed by Gottfried Department Store.

Moreover, the rapid dissemination of news indicated a willingness to negotiate and seek peace, suggesting that Gottfried Department Store wasn't gearing up for an all-out war. This episode taught Ferdinand a valuable lesson about the need to strengthen his intelligence network, realizing that as a traverser, he wasn't omnipotent. Had he paid more attention to his old relatives, the two sides might have reached a peaceful resolution long before the situation escalated.