Upper East Side, Manhattan.
The silver Chevrolet parked under a light gray apartment building at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and East 68th Street. The woman wearing a black Gucci windbreaker got out of the car and reconfirmed the address before walking into the apartment building.
There was already a fashionably dressed girl in her early twenties waiting for her in the lobby on the first floor of the apartment. The security guard carefully confirmed the woman's identity before letting them into the elevator.
The two came to the 12th floor, and the girl who introduced herself as Megan familiarly led the woman into an apartment.
Looking at the luxurious duplex apartment in front of her that she had never dared to dream of, the woman was stunned for a moment. Feeling the pride and contempt in the eyes of the girl next to her, she quickly calmed down and then noticed that cleaning was being done in the apartment.
Moreover, just like Megan, the people responsible for cleaning are all young girls in their early twenties with a figure and appearance above 80 points.
Megan stepped forward and whispered a few words to another girl, and then said to her: "Ms. Fessey is in the wine cellar. Miss Ahrendts, please come with me."
wine cellar
Still want to go downstairs
Thinking of this, Meghan made an invitation gesture and walked straight to the corridor next to the living room, and she quickly followed.
The living room just now was larger than the apartment she rented in Greenwich Village. Walking along the corridor, she couldn't help but realize that this duplex apartment had more than 4,000 square feet of space on a single floor. The wine cellar is in a room at the end of the corridor, which turns out to be not underground.
However, the retro design of the exposed brick walls is very different from other spaces in the apartment, giving it a basement feel.
Meghan entered the room without any arrogance as before, and politely said: "Ms. Fessey, Miss Ahrendts is here."
Sofia Fesi was putting a box of wine on the wine rack. When she saw the two people appearing, she carefully placed a bottle of white wine before she came over and gave the woman a gentle hug and said, "Good afternoon, Angie, are you wearing this?" What a beautiful trench coat.”
The woman's name is Angela Ahrendts. She is 28 years old and is the president of Gucci's US branch that Sophia has just confirmed. The two had contacted several times before and negotiated all details, so they agreed to formally sign the contract this afternoon.
Angela Ahrendts responded to Sophia's hug and said, "Thanks, Sophie."
"It might have to wait a while." Letting go of Angela, Sofia sent away Meghan who was still standing at the door. She came to the box of wine just now, carefully picked up a bottle and placed it on the wine shelf, stroking the bottle and saying : "The 1971 vintage white wine produced by Haiger Winery Jufu Sundial Garden. 1971 was the only year in Germany's Mosel Valley wine region in decades where the comprehensive climate conditions reached 98 points. The highest quality Jufu Sundial Garden area It’s only 3 hectares. I just bought this box of red wine for Simon at Sotheby’s last night. Angie, how much do you think it will cost?”
Angela Ahrendts had a blank look in her eyes. After thinking for a moment, she boldly said, "$100,000?"
Sofia smiled, did not give an answer, placed the remaining two bottles of wine, and left the wine cellar with Angela. The girls had basically finished cleaning the apartment. Sofia personally checked and confirmed that everything was correct, then sent away the seven girls. She then left the apartment with Angela Ahrendts.
It was already noon.
The two chose a restaurant nearby and ordered a meal. Sofia took the initiative to explain: "Simon and Jenny are not in the United States, so they asked me to help them clean the house. I am actually Simon's housekeeper."
Angela Ahrendts hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help being curious: "Those girls?"
Sofia said: "Simon is a perfectionist. He said it was hard for him to imagine a fat, middle-aged Mexican maid helping him clean his room. Those girls are all students at Columbia University or New York University. This part-time job, They only have to work three hours a week and get $500."
Angela Ahrendts did a quick mental calculation. Seven girls, at a cost of $500 each, would cost $3,500 for one cleaning. If the frequency was once a week, the expenditure on cleaning alone would exceed $180,000 a year.
Oh my god.
The annual salary of my last job was only US$120,000.
With a smile on her face, Sofia waited patiently for a moment before asking, "How do you feel?"
Angela looked up at Sophia and said: "Our boss..."
It was just a beginning, but Angela still didn't continue.
But Sofia added in a relaxed tone: "Bastard, or villain?"
Angela laughed and said, "I didn't say that."
In the past two years, the minimum hourly wage in big cities like New York has been less than $5. These college students who want to supplement their daily expenses through normal part-time jobs can only earn at most one or two hundred dollars a week.
A certain guy provided a group of young girls with an easy job earning $500 for 3 hours a week. More importantly, he also gave these girls repeated exposure to the luxurious scenes at the top of the world's pyramid.
It’s hard to imagine what will happen when these girls step out of the ivory tower and begin to face the real world, and a certain psychological gap accumulates.
Sophia said: "They are all very good girls, with outstanding appearance and excellent grades. Although it is only a part-time job, they have all undergone background checks before to confirm that they and their family members have no tainted records before joining the job. They have to undergo very strict housekeeping training. Our boss actually has no other intentions in hiring them. He just likes all the beautiful things. But for these girls, it may be difficult for them to have been immersed in a world that does not belong to them. Keep your heart to yourself."
Angela thought of her brief absence when she first entered the apartment and the unreasonable arrogance of the girl named Megan, and couldn't help but said: "Sophie, what kind of person is he?"
"You'll know this when you meet him," Sofia couldn't find a suitable adjective for a while and said, "However, the reason why you were able to get this job is because of Simon. Several applicants have resumes , your qualifications are the most junior."
Angela suddenly became curious again: "Has Westeros seen my resume?"
Sophia nodded: "Yes."
"So, what did he say about me?"
Sophia couldn't help but smile again on her face and said, "He said you are very beautiful and he can let you try it."
Angela and Sofia looked at each other for a moment, and found that Sofia had no intention of lying at all, so they raised their hands in disbelief and gestured: "Then, I got this job just like that?"
Sophia still smiled and said, "Yes, as a subordinate, I must learn to monitor my boss's actions."
When she was in Melbourne, Sofia showed Simon some candidate information for positions such as Gucci Creative Director and Gucci US Branch President that she was preparing to interview. At that time, Simon was still controlling his working hours under Janet's strict 'supervision', and he just hurriedly flipped through it. I didn’t express any opinions on the most important creative director candidates, but I carefully read Angela Ahrendts’ information, and then gave the above evaluation in an understatement.
Of course, Sofia would not give this job to Angela Ahrendts, who is only 28 years old and has only worked in the fashion industry for 6 years just because of "observation of words". The fundamental reason is that during the interviews in recent days, Sofia discovered The business philosophy proposed by Angela was exactly what Gucci needed. A lot of information compiled by all parties also confirmed Angela Ahrendts' excellent work ability. In the end, there may indeed be some elements of Simon, and Sofia made the decision to hire her.
Angela was still a little hesitant when she heard what Sophia said, and said: "Sophie, you must be joking with me, right?"
Sofia didn't want to leave an impression of rash and blind obedience to her subordinates, so she nodded appropriately and said: "I like your point of view on improving the customer experience of Gucci stores. A long time ago, as a bystander, I often heard about Gucci stores The store is rude and arrogant to customers. This arrogance is even the result of deliberate connivance by the management. The decline of Gucci over the years is not unrelated to the self-righteous arrogance of the Gucci family. Gucci is a luxury brand and upholds its own pride. It should be, but this kind of pride should be inner pride, not rudeness and arrogance on the surface. Angie, the first thing you have to do after you join the company is to change this."
Angela nodded sympathetically.
From the day she submitted her resume, although she didn't think she could easily get the job, she still made a lot of preparations. The Gucci trench coat I am wearing at this time is the result of repeated visits to the Gucci store in New York these days.
Compared with other luxury brands, the service attitude of Gucci stores is really hard to compliment.
When it comes to customers, the shop assistants not only fail to provide attentive service, but also have an attitude of preferring to buy rather than buying. Sometimes they will unabashedly comment on the customers in front of them, and even give them some indecent nicknames.
Angela also heard an old story in the circle.
In the 1970s, a New York magazine published an article criticizing Gucci stores for being indifferent to customers. Aldo Gucci, the head of Gucci America at the time, not only did not care that the article affected Gucci's reputation, but instead sent someone to give the reporter a bouquet. Hua, thank the other party for 'advertising' for Gucci.
"Sophie, there is something I need to discuss with you first," Angela said after Sophia finished speaking: "After joining the job, the first thing I have to do is to fire all the clerks in the Gucci store here in New York. I have accumulated some resources over the years and can find people to fill their vacancies as soon as possible. As for specialty stores in other areas, I will make a decision after visiting them one by one."
Once the employment contract is signed, these are actually within Angela's purview.
However, Sofia also knew why she brought it up. Many of the clerks at the Gucci store in New York are children of the upper class Italians living and studying in the United States. These people generally only work at the Gucci store as a part-time job, and the original Gucci family is also happy to give out these favors.
…
…
Angela and Sofia looked at each other for a moment, and found that Sofia had no intention of lying at all, so they raised their hands in disbelief and gestured: "Then, I got this job just like that?"
Sophia still smiled and said, "Yes, as a subordinate, I must learn to monitor my boss's actions."
When she was in Melbourne, Sofia showed Simon some candidate information for positions such as Gucci Creative Director and Gucci US Branch President that she was preparing to interview. At that time, Simon was still controlling his working hours under Janet's strict 'supervision', and he just hurriedly flipped through it. I didn’t express any opinions on the most important creative director candidates, but I carefully read Angela Ahrendts’ information, and then gave the above evaluation in an understatement.
Of course, Sofia would not give this job to Angela Ahrendts, who is only 28 years old and has only worked in the fashion industry for 6 years just because of "observation of words". The fundamental reason is that during the interviews in recent days, Sofia discovered The business philosophy proposed by Angela was exactly what Gucci needed. A lot of information compiled by all parties also confirmed Angela Ahrendts' excellent work ability. In the end, there may indeed be some elements of Simon, and Sofia made the decision to hire her.
Angela was still a little hesitant when she heard what Sophia said, and said: "Sophie, you must be joking with me, right?"
Sofia didn't want to leave an impression of rash and blind obedience to her subordinates, so she nodded appropriately and said: "I like your point of view on improving the customer experience of Gucci stores. A long time ago, as a bystander, I often heard about Gucci stores The store is rude and arrogant to customers. This arrogance is even the result of deliberate connivance by the management. The decline of Gucci over the years is not unrelated to the self-righteous arrogance of the Gucci family. Gucci is a luxury brand and upholds its own pride. It should be, but this kind of pride should be inner pride, not rudeness and arrogance on the surface. Angie, the first thing you have to do after you join the company is to change this."
Angela nodded sympathetically.
From the day she submitted her resume, although she didn't think she could easily get the job, she still made a lot of preparations. The Gucci trench coat I am wearing at this time is the result of repeated visits to the Gucci store in New York these days.
Compared with other luxury brands, the service attitude of Gucci stores is really hard to compliment.
When it comes to customers, the shop assistants not only fail to provide attentive service, but also have an attitude of preferring to buy rather than buying. Sometimes they will unabashedly comment on the customers in front of them, and even give them some indecent nicknames.
Angela also heard an old story in the circle.
In the 1970s, a New York magazine published an article criticizing Gucci stores for being indifferent to customers. Aldo Gucci, the head of Gucci America at the time, not only did not care that the article affected Gucci's reputation, but instead sent someone to give the reporter a bouquet. Hua, thank the other party for 'advertising' for Gucci.
"Sophie, there is something I need to discuss with you first," Angela said after Sophia finished speaking: "After joining the job, the first thing I have to do is to fire all the clerks in the Gucci store here in New York. I have accumulated some resources over the years and can find people to fill their vacancies as soon as possible. As for specialty stores in other areas, I will make a decision after visiting them one by one."
Once the employment contract is signed, these are actually within Angela's purview.
However, Sofia also knew why she brought it up. Many of the clerks at the Gucci store in New York are Italian "connections" who have made their way in the United States. These people generally only work at the Gucci store as a part-time job, and the original Gucci family is also happy to give out these favors.