Chapter 32. Something Is Strange About the Commercial District Analysis Team (4)
After spending a week exploring Creative Village in their own ways, the Commercial District Analysis Team gathered in one place.
Jinhyeok rented the entire meeting room inside a café.
Different drinks and sandwiches, chosen according to each member’s taste, were spread across the table.
“Manager Park, want to start?”
“Yes. I’ll begin immediately, Team Leader.”
“Good. It’s only a first draft, so relax.”
“Yes!”
For some reason, Jongil sat stiffly as though he were in the military and shared his laptop screen.
“Double cropping?”
“Yes. Exactly. Just like farmers harvest two crops from the same field in one year, we divide one space between day and night. During the day, it operates as a print shop or metalworking factory. At night, the sign changes and it becomes a wine bar or pub. I used several successful overseas examples as references.”
The economy had grown worse.
Even rent had become a heavy burden for many small factory owners.
After listening carefully to their stories, Jongil came up with an idea.
Manufacturing factories opened early and closed early.
Why not let another business owner use the same space during the evening?
“Hmm. That’s a good idea. Cafés that preserve factory interiors are popular these days, so I don’t think customers would feel uncomfortable at all. If anything, the factory itself could become the main attraction.”
“Exactly, Team Leader. If you look at the next screen, you’ll see that we could switch the business type simply by cleaning and moving some equipment. The cleaning itself took less than an hour.”
The next image showed a factory that looked completely different after being cleaned.
“Did you change the lighting too?”
“Yes. We installed several accent lights and focused them around the places customers would sit.”
“What about the cost? Don’t tell me you paid for it yourself.”
“Hahaha. It didn’t cost anything. The lighting-store owner was generous. He said the lights had been sitting in inventory forever, so we could just use them.”
There was no way that was true.
Even if it was old inventory, nobody would simply give products away for free.
“Make sure you pay him back somehow. If we ever need products like that, don’t buy them from another shop.”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
“Keep going. What business are you planning to operate with this double-cropping system?”
Jongil answered with a solemn expression.
“The heavy industrial atmosphere that makes you feel like you’ve traveled back to the 1970s. The memories of working all night to meet delivery deadlines, followed by a glass of soju! The business item I chose is...”
Click!
Jongil pressed the mouse dramatically.
Food images appeared one after another.
Compared to the previous slides, these had far more effects and looked considerably more polished.
“Frozen pork belly?”
“Yes! There’s nobody in the world who hates pork belly. I searched all around the alleys and couldn’t find a single restaurant specializing in frozen pork belly.”
“Hmm. Not bad, but...”
Compared to the creativity of the double-cropping system itself, the business choice felt a little ordinary.
Jinhyeok thought for a moment.
“Good. You worked hard. Let’s hear the others too. Assistant Manager Oh, what do you think?”
Data-lover Oh Ilman pushed his glasses up out of habit before answering.
“I think the double-cropping idea itself is excellent. According to the data, every factory inside Creative Village closes between four and six in the afternoon. There is one concern, though.”
“What is it? Don’t worry about anyone’s feelings. Speak freely.”
“The idea itself is excellent, but I think the specific business item needs more thought.”
“Why? Frozen pork belly does seem to fit the atmosphere.”
Once Jinhyeok gave him permission, Ilman immediately began explaining his objections.
“First, frozen pork belly has a low unit price and relatively slow table turnover. The space shown in the image also limits the number of tables. Initial facility costs would also be high because of ventilation systems and gas lines. To give you the conclusion, the expected return on investment isn’t particularly strong.”
The corner of Jinhyeok’s mouth rose at Oh Ilman’s sharp analysis.
Synergy created by people with different strengths.
As expected, Iseul, who had been waiting for Ilman to finish, clapped once and jumped into the conversation.
“Team Leader! If the problem is the business item, I think we could combine Manager Park’s idea with mine. Can I show you?”
“Hm? Sure. Senior Staff Choi, speak freely. Manager Park, you’re fine with that too, right?”
“Of course. My real idea was the double-cropping system, not frozen pork belly. If she has a better business item, that’s even better.”
Choi Iseul’s eyes sparkled as she shared a new screen.
The design was so flashy that it almost felt like watching a science-fiction movie.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“Surprised? I didn’t think of anything like Manager Park’s double-cropping system, but I was considering a way to preserve the industrial interior and atmosphere of the existing factory. Instead of simply selling food and drinks, customers consume the space itself. An experience-focused hotspot. A Korean-style cyberpunk pub.”
Oh Ilman touched his glasses and slowly nodded.
“A pub needs more performance space than large dining tables. A late-century atmosphere that can be created simply by changing the lighting. And a kitchen smaller than what a full restaurant requires. The synergy seems quite strong.”
Hearing that, Jinhyeok’s heart began beating pleasantly.
He had separated the team to bring out their individual strengths.
They had returned with something much better than he expected.
“I agree. Let’s make this more specific.”
The Commercial District Analysis Team’s heated discussion began.
“What if the sign automatically changes at six?”
“Oh! That’s great. What about the name? Shift Work! How does ‘Shift Work’ sound?”
“That fits perfectly. Between six and seven, we could clean and rearrange the factory as a performance and upload it to social media. We could call it the Shift Change Performance.”
“How about this? Instead of hiding that press machine, we clean it and use it as a standing table!”
Creative ideas appeared from every direction.
Jinhyeok struggled to hide his smile as he wrote down the ideas he liked.
The final verification would be handled by the diary app.
Two hours had passed since the meeting began.
Nobody had touched the drinks or sandwiches on the table.
But they almost felt as though they should still be warm.
The team members had exceeded my expectations and were debating so intensely they had started sweating.
Jongil had brought back the raw gem called double cropping by running around the field.
Then Senior Staff Choi’s unusual imagination and Assistant Manager Oh’s detailed data polished that gem.
The resulting proposal was starting to look surprisingly good.
For the first draft, this was enough.
“All right! Let’s stop here for now. We still need to choose one more business item. If anyone has another idea, let’s hear it.”
The team members finally paused and looked at one another.
Jongil’s double-cropping concept had been that strong.
“Um... Team Leader?”
“Yeah, Senior Staff Choi. Did you think of something?”
“No. The ideas I prepared don’t seem that great anymore. But can I tell you something that came to me during the meeting?”
