SAITON, NEAR TOKYO – 4 MAY
‘Congratulations, gentlemen,’ said the thin-faced Dr Naga as he raised a glass of premium Courvoisier in the direction of his fellow Chess Club members. All present raised their glasses. ‘To the success of the Plan,’ said Dr Naga.
‘To the success of the Plan,’ they chimed and each savoured the warm glow of the brandy as it slid down their throats.
‘We are underway, gentlemen. This is a great day,’ said Tsan Yohoto. ‘Here’s to the successful completion of the project.’
‘The first draft of the marketing plan for the SuperVerve tablets has come in from Dynamic Communications in New York,’ said Kazuhiro Saito, handing around printouts of the report. ‘I have made a few small changes, but it is very much along the expected lines.’
‘And the great Professor Milton has the two experts from Dallas and Toronto on board,’ added Tsan Yohoto.
Lumo Kinotoa nodded. ‘Excellent. Also, the Yamoura production director has organised that the SuperVerve tablets are twice the labelled strength – he thinks that it’s to keep import taxes down on the African side, and won’t question it.’
Tsan Yohoto removed his wire-rimmed spectacles and began polishing the lenses – usually a signal that he had said his piece and was clearing space for others.
‘And so, to be clear,’ said Kazuhiro Saito, ‘what exactly remains to be done now – and when is our launch date?’
‘Well,’ said Dr Naga, ‘Kazuhiro, Tsan, I believe you plan to visit Dynamic again to sign off on the marketing plan?’
‘Correct,’ said Kazuhiro Saito, ‘and in particular I want to give them instructions on some hot spots for the outdoor advertising, where we want to create clusters of consumption. I have an email from Victor Dezner at Dynamic. He’s saying they can definitely make our launch date and he’s asking if we are available for dinner on the evening of their presentation to us.’
Tsan Yohoto and Dr Naga both smiled. Their many years of experience in dealing with the west had told them that the mighty dollar could move mountains when it came to meeting deadlines.
Dr Naga winked. ‘A celebratory dinner. Sounds nice. Have a nice glass of wine, for me.’ He glanced around the table. ‘So, with everything proceeding according to plan, we should be launching to the public in, say, four weeks?’ he asked with an upturned eyebrow. ‘That would make it the beginning of the month?’
‘The first of June it is,’ said Tsan Yohoto firmly. ‘And then we sit back and watch the Americans dig their own graves.’