25th April, 1688

Imperial Capital, Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

The parking area of BTM Layout 6th Street was completely packed with cars of various companies, and people dressed in exquisite and colourful clothes went in and out of the Lakshmi Venkateswara Convention Centre with great excitement. Inside the convention centre, a huge crowd had gathered, filled with elites and wealthy people from all over the empire, from ASEAN, the vassal kingdoms, the Middle East, Africa, and even from Israel and Egypt.

All the people, men and women alike, eagerly looked at the stage where a majestic car was placed on a turntable platform, spinning slowly to showcase its exquisite design and refined beauty.

Right next to the car was a grey-haired old man wearing a pitch black official sherwani, looking refined and dignified. He held a hammer in his hand, and he spoke extremely quickly as he looked around the room with his hawk-like eyes to see if there were any more bidders willing to bid.

" 4 million Varaha!"

" Gentleman with 436 bid 4 million Varaha, do we have 4.5 million?"

" Four point five million, anyone?"

" 4 Million, Going once, going twice..."

Just before he could call for the final time, a pleasant sound reverberated across the room.

"4.5 million!"

All the gazes of the elites in the room were immediately directed towards a young woman.

"Oh, respectable lady at 249 has bid 4.5 million, do we have any more takers?"

Sheila's expression was extremely determined, like that of someone ready to go to war no matter the price. However, hidden from the gazes of those around her, her hands were trembling with fear. She had decided to stake all of her family's wealth not only to repay her father's debts but also to carve out a new path for the Kulashekaran family. She had come too far to lose now. Every shout of the auctioneer felt like a drumbeat against her fragile chest, keeping her on the edge of her seat and pushing her to the brink of mental exhaustion.

"Going once, going twice..." The auctioneer raised his hammer, looked around the room for a few seconds, which made Sheila almost pass out, and finally,

"Bang!"

" Going thrice, sold!"

"Congratulations, Miss Sheila Kuleshekaran, for winning the agency rights of Aakarsh A7 in the state of Cheranadu for a price of 4.5 million."

Sheila's straight back almost collapsed as she suddenly felt lifeless from the immense relief washing over her. Fortunately, she no longer had to maintain a tough appearance; she had already achieved her goal.

'Tsk!'

At the corner of the hall, the middle-aged man holding 436 clicked his tongue in annoyance after understanding he had been fooled.

Sheila didn't waste her time any longer. After paying the 4.5 million in the form of a bond issued by her bank, she registered the agency rights in her name and left the capital in a pleasant mood.

The introduction of 6th-generation machine tools had dramatically boosted the productivity of industrial companies. This increase allowed for the manufacture of more Balwaan 4th Gen engines, both T series and M series, which, in turn, enabled the assembly of more cars.

Also, due to the increased steam engine production, all the car companies that were still in the testing and prototyping phases had officially been put on the market after undergoing rigorous tests by the Ministry of Transportation. However, the companies that put their products into the market later discovered that due to the first mover advantage, all the people in the empire were only recognising the cars that came before, so the Tata Group, which produced Tata Suraksha, came up with an idea to not sell the cars themselves. Instead, they would sell them to a dealer, and the dealer would handle the rest.

In such a way, the Tata Suraksha, despite coming later, carved out a market for itself in the aspiring urban cities of the empire, where large car showrooms were completely absent.

Like any successful strategy that ends up being copied, the strategy of the Tata Group was copied as well. Soon, Dravida Mobility Corporation, Brown Car company, and even the tractor manufacturers Vikram Tractors, Sudarshan Agrotech, and others copied this model, building a solid base of customers for themselves.

At first, the large companies like Aakarsh Mobility, H&B Mobility, and others did not care much about this, since their cars were still selling like hot cakes and they had no competition wherever they went. But as time went on, they discovered their penetration stopped at the top urban areas. It became very hard to penetrate into the semi-urban, semi-rural areas of the empire, the regions where the largest middle-class and upper middle-class population resided.

With the introduction of 6th-generation machine tools, all car and locomotive manufacturing companies received a pleasant surprise. The price of the Balwaan and Kesari engines they purchased from Raya Power Company had dropped by 20% compared to their first purchase. This not only allowed them to produce more cars but also to reduce car prices slightly. Gradually, all the companies realised that, over time, the overall prices of cars, tractors, and locomotives would continue to decrease, making them more affordable to a wider audience. After thorough research, the large companies concluded that, to remain relevant and sustain their car manufacturing, they had to aggressively tap into the middle-class market.

They finally began examining the dealership model introduced by the Tata Group more seriously, and to their surprise, selling cars this way offered multiple advantages. Not only did it save the company significant money, since they no longer needed to invest in shops in every city, as the dealers handled that themselves, but they also realised that the dealers had far greater reach into local markets. Additionally, providing service and honouring warranties became much easier once these responsibilities were bundled with the dealerships.

In such a way, slowly throughout the empire, companies started to stop running their own stores and started to sell out dealerships state by state.

The Aakarsh Group of Companies, which was at the top of the food chain, was the last to implement the dealership model. However, being last didn't mean they had fallen behind. In fact, Aakarsh Mobility had become so proficient in manufacturing the popular A-7 that they were now able to produce over a dozen units a day, all with premium quality and excellent build.

Because of this, despite its limited reach, most people in the empire still aspired to own an A-7, the most premium and luxurious car for the elites. And because of this, even though many markets were already occupied by other manufacturers, people came from all over the world to purchase the dealership rights for the A-7. Given that the Bharatiya Empire allowed investments in the form of real estate and services, with the option to hold maximum stakes, the auction drew even more interest from the international crowd.

Sheila keenly understood the inherent brand value of Aakarsh Mobility. So, putting all her assets on the line and competing head-to-head with local and foreign capitalists, she finally secured the dealership for the state of Chera Nadu.

---

Cheranadu

Getting back to Kozhikode, she immediately summoned all the people under her: a lawyer, several managers, and several accountants.

"All the stocks in our shops in Kozhikode, Thirur, Tirusur, Kochi, and Alappuzha will be cleared out as soon as possible. Run a discounted sale and empty the inventory."

Hearing the orders of their boss, the seven managers were shocked. The senior manager, who was responsible for directing the other managers, couldn't hold it anymore and finally spoke out with a serious look on his face.

" But Boss, if we can sell the goods at the normal price, we will be able to make a few hundred thousand in profits by the end of the year. Should you reconsider?"

Sheila was impatient and shook her head, "The debts incurred in order to purchase these properties are too large, the money earned cannot even make up for 10% of the debt after clearing the interest."

"If we operate it normally, it will take at least ten years to clear all the debts, but is there any guarantee that Kulashekaran Kirana Stores can still receive the same amount of business 10 years down the line?"

"Besides, I have already mortgaged all the property, so simply do as I say."

The managers and the accountants were shocked. They looked at each other in disbelief, a few of them were disappointed, and a few of them were angry, but what can they do? They are simply wage earners, albeit at the higher end of the spectrum.

As for the lawyer, an old man with a grey beard and neatly combed maroon hair, he did not look much surprised, as he already knew what the young miss was up to, so he stayed quiet and did not try to argue with the young miss in front of outsiders.

"Uncle Arvind, please send someone to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce and have them modify our trademarks and scope of business."

The old lawyer nodded, "Anything else, young miss?"

"Yes. Send some people to the dealerships of other cars and discuss whether they would like to sell the A-7 as well."

"Huh!" The old lawyer Arvind was taken aback. "What do you mean, young miss? Why would the dealerships that already have their own cars to sell, except the A-7?"

A cunning light flashed in Sheila's eyes. "I have carefully looked at the contract they have signed, and I noticed that the dealership contract is not exclusive, meaning the dealership has no obligation to purchase the cars from only a single company."

"Maybe this is a loophole they all have missed, or maybe they want to keep their options open, but anyway, this is an opportunity for us, since who would want to reject free money?"

"Adding the five stores under our company and the several dozen dealerships across the state, I refuse to believe we cannot sell more than a few hundred A-7s."

The managers, who were not aware of what their boss was doing, suddenly became enlightened, and they all became excited. Everyone knew how lucrative the business of dealerships had become in recent months, and now, according to what their boss said, they actually had a dealership of the infamous A-7 for the whole state, and according to the idea of boss, they were sure to make a lot of money.

They had a change of 180 degrees in their attitude, and the manager who previously objected to Sheila emptying out the stock immediately volunteered to contact the dealerships.

Sheila smiled and nodded, "Very good. I will not treat you all badly, but when you go to negotiate, make it clear that we cannot send the car directly to them, as the risk we will have to bear in such a situation is simply too high. Instead, we can send a representative, and this representative will be responsible for closing the deal and directing the customer to our stores."

"The dealerships could either accept a fixed commission or simply pay us a one-time fee for one year to keep a certain percentage of the profits."

The chief accountant immediately objected, "Boss, we should simply negotiate to settle in commissions. Sharing the profit is a bit of a loss on our end."

Sheila shrugged, "I don't want to as well, but the company has no money left. All the money we will get from selling out the stocks in the five shops is only enough to renovate one of the shops to meet the standards to be the showroom of Aakarsh Mobility."

"So much?"

"Yes. Else, what do you think the A-7 is? The most premium car brand and the car in the empire, the standards are very high."

"Besides, we will have to train the old staff in aristocratic ways, employ new staff, and we also need to be able to afford at least two teams of engineers that will be sent by Aakarsh Mobility."

"All this will cost at least one or two million more."

"If those dealerships agreed to purchase, this shortfall can be made up."

The chief accountant became silent.

After looking around and seeing that no one had any more objections, she clapped her hands and got up, "Alright, get to work. I want to be able to occupy at least 30% of the stocks available in the Aakarsh Mobility before others snatch them away."

"Yes, boss."

Aravind, looking at the young miss who had grown up, all of a sudden felt a little emotional. 'I wish you could see this, old friend, you would be very proud.' Wiping away the imperceptible tears, he stood up as well. It was time for his old bones to work for their worth.

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