Chasing Stars in Hollywood

Unlike the leveraged buyouts common in the 1980s, Cersei Capital's acquisition of LTD was not intended for quick disassembly and cashing out but rather aimed at long-term operation followed by a secondary listing.

Therefore, in terms of financing, Cersei Capital couldn't employ the short-term high-interest loans and junk bonds typical of the 1980s.

To raise the funds needed for the acquisition of LTD, Cersei Capital had been preparing to issue a new fund specifically for this acquisition well before the formal acquisition process began.

Once the acquisition deal was finalized, Cersei Capital had nearly completed the fundraising for this fund.

Although the acquisition, exceeding $2 billion, couldn't compare to the $33 billion Reynolds Nabisco acquisition, it was the largest private equity acquisition in the past two years amidst the lingering aftermath of the bond market collapse a few years ago.

To instill confidence in investors and considering the Westeros system's own investment strategy, after the deal was finalized, Westeros Company quickly announced it would purchase 10% of LTD's shares at the agreed price. Subtracting the 10% retained by the Wexner family, Cersei Capital essentially acquired 80% of LTD's equity, requiring a payment of $1.96 billion.

Westeros Company's direct involvement ensured that the investors who had signed subscription agreements quickly fulfilled their fund subscription shares, ensuring the smooth completion of the acquisition.

The specific acquisition process would take another two months to complete, but Simon soon contacted LTD's founder, Leslie Wexner.

Leslie Wexner's rise in the industry was quite typical.

Starting from a fashion store, he expanded the chain over twenty years, eventually creating LTD, a company with thousands of chain stores.

The most noteworthy Victoria's Secret was actually bought by Leslie Wexner from another businessman in 1982.

Since it wasn't the foundation of his empire, despite Victoria's Secret's rapid development over the years, when people mentioned LTD, they thought of Victoria's Secret. In reality, Leslie Wexner still focused on LTD's women's fashion and sportswear brands.

Thus, unlike later when Victoria's Secret accounted for over 60% of the parent company's sales, at this time, Victoria's Secret only represented just over 20% of LTD's sales in 1991.

Economic downturns, overexpansion, and abandoning the initial "Limited Brands" strategy to pursue more fields without restraint ultimately led to LTD's operational difficulties after the US bond market crash.

Leslie Wexner was a highly aggressive businessman, quite similar to the public's impression of Simon.

The Westeros system's rapid rise over six years was seen as a miracle, and Simon's bold moves during this period were far beyond mere aggression.

However, Simon, with his dual-life experience, always knew what he was doing.

Many of Westeros Company's seemingly incomprehensible strategies, like the recent frenzied investments in Egret, were merely about securing a foothold in industries destined to boom.

Leslie Wexner didn't have Simon's foresight.

LTD's continuous expansion over the past twenty years was more a natural move by a daring businessman.

The fashion industry had long been a fiercely competitive red ocean.

LTD's continued overexpansion led to the same homogenization issues many fashion companies faced: the fashion industry is inherently limited in innovation.

Severe product homogenization and a bloated corporate scale increased relative costs, inevitably reducing brand competitiveness.

In recent years, LTD's women's fashion and sportswear sales had been declining amid economic downturns, with only Victoria's Secret bucking the trend.

Simon privately wondered if this was the so-called "lipstick effect."

In the original timeline, LTD refocused on Victoria's Secret from the 1990s, inspired by its market performance, returning to a "Limited Brands" strategy focusing on core brands.

LTD's headquarters was in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio, in the northeastern US, bordered Pennsylvania to the east and the Great Lakes to the north. Unlike the rugged, mountainous western states, Ohio was part of the vast eastern plains. Columbus, the state capital, sat in the heart of this plain.

After returning from Australia, Simon and Janet accepted Leslie Wexner's invitation to visit Columbus, Ohio.

Of course, there were other reasons too.

The "butterfly effect" caused by Simon was becoming increasingly evident, but it hadn't changed certain events.

For instance, the Los Angeles riots at the end of April 1992.

The riots stemmed from the March 1991 incident where African-American Rodney King was violently beaten by Los Angeles police officers after a DUI and high-speed chase. A bystander filmed the incident and sold the tape to TV stations. The TV stations, accustomed to "creating news," edited out the parts showing King's resistance, airing only the footage of him being beaten.

On April 28, the Los Angeles court acquitted the four officers involved, sparking outrage in the African-American community and leading to large-scale riots.

Although the riots were historically confined to South Central Los Angeles, there was no telling what anomalies might occur this time.

As soon as the incident happened, Simon quietly left Los Angeles and met Janet, who had flown in from New York, in Columbus.

Out of habit, a 50-acre farm estate had already been prepared in Columbus.

Unlike Los Angeles and other coastal cities experiencing riots, Columbus, in the central plains, remained very calm.

This wasn't without reason. Located in the conservative northeastern US, Ohio had a much lower minority population than the coastal states, with whites still making up over 90% of the population at this time.

Simon had little sentiment about the riots; it wasn't the first time such events had occurred in this country.

At the farm estate in the northern suburbs of Columbus, Leslie Wexner also avoided discussing this sensitive event.

For politicians, any stance on this issue was a mistake, so President Bush only made a vague appeal two days after the riots. During an election year, candidates were unusually silent on the riots.

After all, they were all vying for votes!

Both Simon and Leslie Wexner were public figures, and even without a politician's concerns, speaking too much would only lead to more mistakes.

Despite understanding that a country veering towards extreme political correctness was often a result of continual silent concessions, Simon had no intention of changing anything.

A deep-seated pessimism made him prefer to watch events unfold from a distance.

Politics aside, they discussed business.

It was May 1, and spring was turning into summer.

Strolling along the lush farm paths, ignoring the outside turmoil, Simon felt very relaxed.

During his stay in Columbus, Simon continuously discussed LTD's next steps with Leslie Wexner.

LTD's struggles in recent years had proven that the company needed to change.

In the original timeline, LTD's focus on Victoria's Secret and a return to a "Limited Brands" strategy was a result of such changes.

However, combining his memories, Simon found that LTD could try another approach.

Since the proven success of promoting the Victoria's Secret brand through sexy marketing with the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, this strategy should continue. For LTD's women's fashion and sportswear businesses, Simon suggested another concept gradually forming in recent years but not yet fully developed: "fast fashion."

Years later, the world's most famous affordable fashion brands like Zara, H&M, and GAP would all adopt the "fast fashion" model.

Simply put, fast fashion involves quickly translating fashion trends from major fashion weeks into the affordable consumer market.

First-rate design, second-rate branding, third-rate pricing—this aptly describes fast fashion brands.

Essentially, fast fashion is about quickly mimicking top luxury brands' fashion trends.

In Simon's memory, Spain's Zara frequently faced lawsuits for design plagiarism, paying millions of dollars in infringement fees annually. However, the company never "reformed," continuously sending its vast design team to major fashion shows.

Compared to the huge profits, the annual infringement fees were negligible.

Zara's owner, Amancio Ortega, once ranked among the world's top three wealthiest individuals with a fortune of hundreds of billions of dollars, surpassing Warren Buffett.

Whether Spain's Zara, Sweden's H&M, or America's GAP, these three fashion giants had already been established for many years, but they still had a long way to go before reaching their peak. LTD, with its deep roots in fashion, was not too late to transform into the fast fashion sector ahead of these giants.

Developing an affordable fashion chain to a certain extent, breaking the brand's further progress had long been a challenge for Leslie Wexner.

Unlike luxury brands, affordable fashion was too easily homogenized. The biggest issue was the difficulty in maintaining a distinctive brand identity over time, which couldn't be solved by large-scale marketing alone.

Simon's recent proposal of the "fast fashion" concept gave Leslie Wexner a sense of clarity.

If maintaining a long-term attractive brand identity was difficult, then the alternative was to constantly pursue the latest trends.

As for the ethical risks of plagiarism, for a businessman with decades of experience, there were no psychological burdens.

After days of discussion, Leslie Wexner accepted Simon's suggestion.

Moving forward, while focusing on promoting the Victoria's Secret brand, LTD planned to consolidate its fashion business and develop a fast fashion brand based on its earliest established "Express" brand.

Additionally, LTD would sell some non-core businesses, not in the manner of post-1980s leveraged buyout sales.

Funds from asset sales would be fully used to develop the "VS" and "Express" brands.

"Simon, about your idea of a lingerie fashion show yesterday, I gave it some more thought last night. It's a great idea. However, according to your vision, inviting the top models in the fashion industry and broadcasting it on TV, the budget seems too high. Maybe we can start simpler."

"I've thought about the budget too," Simon smiled. "Les, how

 about this? The show can be co-produced by Danelys Entertainment and LTD, each bearing 50% of the budget. Danelys Entertainment will handle the TV and video distribution."

Walking along the verdant farm roads, the scenery was pleasant, but the conversation was even more engaging.

Leslie Wexner quickly calculated.

Simon had done his research on LTD and Leslie Wexner, and likewise, after their interaction, Leslie Wexner had thoroughly studied this young man's rise.

If Danelys Entertainment could sell a Gucci brand documentary for tens of millions of dollars, achieve box office success with Madonna's concert documentary, and turn an Antarctic documentary into a box office dark horse, then this lingerie fashion show might have similar value.

Thinking along these lines, Leslie Wexner quickly asked, "Simon, if we share the budget, shouldn't the profits be shared too?"

Simon glanced at the fifty-something man beside him and said, "Les, LTD only needs to pay half the budget to gain significant promotion for the Victoria's Secret brand. Isn't that enough?"

"But we are bearing half the budget after all."

Leslie Wexner hesitated but ultimately didn't agree to let LTD bear the entire production budget.

According to the young man's vision, such a show would require at least tens of millions of dollars.

Investing millions of dollars in a fashion show was quite risky.

Moreover, it wasn't just about money.

This matter definitely required Simon's personal involvement, including inviting top models, which would be difficult without his participation.

Victoria's Secret had decent performance and recognition but was still just an affordable lingerie brand.

For many supermodels, walking for such a brand could be seen as demeaning.

If they had to share the stage with other top models, it would feel even more degrading.

However, if it was for a project curated by Simon Westeros, it might be more acceptable.

Leslie Wexner was aware of the sudden rise of the two "waist gods" and "leg gods" in the fashion world last year.

Simon, with a casual effort, had created two supermodels who quickly rose to fame.

With his immense influence in Hollywood and the fashion industry, Simon could easily assemble a team of supermodels to walk for Victoria's Secret.

This was something LTD couldn't achieve at this stage.

In the original timeline, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show began in 1995.

However, unlike the increasingly grand shows in the new century, the initial shows could only invite a few quasi-first-line models as headliners. It took another ten years for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show to reach its peak with a star-studded lineup.

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