Diagon Alley, first floor of Silver Lightning Alchemy Development Company.
Although only three months had passed since Alan's trip to Egypt, the internal changes within the trading company were immense, rendering it almost unrecognizable. The original first-floor storefront had been a little over two hundred square meters, and initially, Alan had specifically sectioned off a tiny area of a few dozen square meters as a shop. Although it was later continuously expanded, it had only utilized the existing space. However, if one were to enter through the main door now, the storefront that appeared before their eyes would span at least three thousand square meters, clearly expanded by a Traceless Stretching Spell.
At the same time, the vertical space was also extended upward, raising the nearly four-meter-high ceiling to six or seven meters, and all of it was decorated with magical ornaments and high-end lighting. This was inspired by Alan's visit to the Alchemy Research Center in Egypt, where the decoration was incredibly luxurious, leaving a deep impression on all who entered. Alan absorbed some of Egypt's design principles, adding a few unique features, and completely redecorated both the ceiling and the walls.
The sales area had transformed even more, resembling a large international marketplace at a glance. Due to Alan signing trade agreements with multiple foreign companies, the Silver Lightning Trading Company's goods were exported overseas, and many foreign items also appeared in Alan's inventory. Among them, in addition to previously featured alchemy items like magic cameras and weather blankets, there were also many non-alchemy or semi-alchemy products. This was because most of the alchemy items in the International Confederation of Wizards were monopolized by Egypt, and some countries simply did not have alchemy product specialties.
Therefore, the Silver Lightning Trading Company now featured magical fashion and beauty potions from the French wizarding world, alcoholic beverages and magical kitchenware from the Italian wizarding world, and specialized tents and snacks from Northern Europe. Alan had even signed a distribution agreement with the Romanian merchant he had previously set up a stall with, as the man had helped him significantly at the Karahei Bazaar. As a result, his shop now carried a large quantity of magical animal hams, sausages, and cured meats.
However, seeing Hog constantly eyeing these meat products, Alan knew he absolutely couldn't leave him alone when he wasn't home.
The Silver Lightning Trading Company was specially renovated to welcome these foreign goods. At the same time, Alan reconfigured the internal areas, creating a foreign specialties section and dividing the displays by country. Of course, their own products remained placed in the most central and prominent positions.
Selling these foreign alchemy items in his own shop wasn't extremely profitable, with a profit margin of only five to ten percent. It wasn't that it wasn't lucrative, but it wasn't nearly as exorbitantly profitable as directly selling their self-produced alchemy items, which normally brought around a fifty percent profit margin. But the main purpose of introducing foreign goods was to attract customers and expand influence. His shop was the only international marketplace in all of Britain. If it continued to develop like this, it could become a landmark in the British wizarding world. In fact, even now, nearly all British wizards knew of the firm. In the future, if a wizard from Britain didn't know the Silver Lightning Trading Company or didn't own at least one or two items produced by them, they could hardly be considered a genuine British wizard.
Furthermore, due to the influence of Alan and Silver Flash, many local British broom manufacturing companies and Quidditch teams hoped to cooperate with him. These organizations wanted him to act as a sales agent for broomsticks and Quidditch merchandise. However, Alan reluctantly refused such requests, because doing so would invite unnecessary hostility. The business of other local alchemy trading companies was already struggling, and they essentially looked like Quidditch specialty stores. If he snatched the Quidditch business as well, it would be pushing them to their deaths.
In fact, even now, Madam Primpernelle next door was already very displeased with him. Originally, one sold alchemy items and the other sold beauty potions, so there was no conflict between them. In fact, because of the Silver Lightning Trading Company's booming foot traffic, Madam Primpernelle's business had even benefited somewhat. But ever since Alan started doing import business, things changed. The French beauty potions sold in the Silver Lightning Trading Company were beautifully packaged and of excellent quality. Although they were expensive, high prices were often equated with quality in the minds of consumers. Madam Primpernelle was practically numb; she couldn't compete with Alan using her standard potions. This caused the friendliness in her eyes to vanish whenever she saw Alan now.
Therefore, to avoid overly impacting the local business environment and incurring public wrath, Alan raised the prices of those imported goods considerably and did not accept the entry of local advantageous products. He only sold items independently produced by the Silver Lightning Trading Company and goods from cooperative foreign companies.
At the same time, during this period, he visited several local British alchemy shops and reached agreements with them, allowing the Silver Lightning Trading Company's items to appear on their counters. Of course, their resale profit was very low—less than three percent—and they could only sell products aimed at commoners, with fewer styles than what was available at the main store. But given the Silver Lightning Trading Company's current reputation and international standing, those alchemy shops readily agreed. After all, they could now sell magic lamps, gramophones, and records, which attracted a lot of customers. Moreover, such profits were not considered small by those shop owners; they could always raise the price slightly, selling it a tiny bit more expensively than the main store, and most wizards wouldn't object.
The reason for this arrangement, besides wanting to win over local alchemy shops, was primarily that Alan was preparing to transform the Silver Lightning Trading Company, moving away from the previous model of a simple storefront linked to a back factory. Instead, it would begin to emulate large local broom manufacturing companies, focusing primarily on development and production, with retail gradually dispersed to foreign partners and other local alchemy shops. Of course, the main store in Diagon Alley would continue to operate. The items sold here would remain the most comprehensive, while those retail shops would handle specific high-profit items, which led to higher overall sales and a less complex variety of products to produce.
After properly arranging matters within the trading company, Alan was finally able to free up his hands and confidently head to Europe. At this moment, in the office behind the shop, Alan, Hog, Shalltear, Kiki, Vivian, and Aseria were seated.
"Sir, are you ready?" Kiki looked at Alan with some apprehension. "If you take Shalltear with you this time, I'll be the only one left in the trading company. I'm a little worried I won't be able to handle it."
Upon hearing Kiki's words, before Alan could speak, Vivian rolled her eyes. "Oh, Kiki, I'm not invisible. Won't I stay and help after they leave? And there's Aseria. With the three of us, can't we manage one storefront?"
"Uh, I didn't mean that..." Kiki shook her head nervously. "I just... now the trading company has expanded so much, and there are so many international businesses to connect with. Just the orders we've accepted, many haven't been processed yet. I'm afraid I'll mess it up and delay your business, Sir."
"Don't belittle yourself, Kiki." Alan smiled calmly. "Among everyone in the trading company, you are the most familiar with the business besides me. I am very confident in leaving it to you. When I am not here, you are the manager. Remember what I told you before: learn to think for yourself. Haven't you been doing very well?"
"Just stop being so wishy-washy. Since Alan continues to employ me, I won't abandon the trading company," Vivian interjected.
Hog, sitting next to her, gave her a speechless glance. *What does the Sir talking to Kiki have to do with you? And if it weren't for you failing to get a job at that gossip magazine, why would you come here asking the Sir to take you in?*
After a sigh, Hog looked up and glanced at Shalltear. "Hey, bat, have you finished testing your sunscreen yet? Don't start crying when you get sunburned!"
"Nonsense! Do you think I'm like you, a silly dog, playing with my life?" Shalltear, with her young appearance, curled her lips in disdain and spat at Hog.
At this moment, Shalltear's clothing was very different from before. Although it was still that Gothic lace dress style, she now had a layer of fitted black stockings on her legs, long lace gloves on her hands, and a small hat with a lace sunshade on her head, adding a touch of subtle mystery. This outfit covered her entire body tightly. It was a special sun-protective combat suit developed by Alan for Shalltear, ensuring her normal activity and combat capabilities under the sun. Although there were still some exposed areas on her body, it would not cause adverse reactions.
"Alright, if you two keep arguing, I'll leave you here. I don't necessarily have to take you with me," Alan glared at them, then looked at Kiki. "Keep an eye on the shop, and also keep an eye on Vivian. The shop is selling a lot of food; don't let her steal any."
"Hey, aren't you being a bit too much? I'm right here, and you're saying that," Vivian glared at Alan, looking annoyed.
Alan ignored her, then looked at Aseria. "You also need to pay attention. If you receive any news from headquarters or the old woman, remember to contact me promptly. Also, I might make a trip to Northern Europe to see if I can rescue your sister along the way."
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