Twisted Love and Money by Thomas Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

acted in a passive way as Holding Company, that is, as
far as we have been concerned,” Dorothy persisted.
    “I know of the
company,” John threw in “They really are a major multinational
player and they are a highly diversified business. They have a
London Stock Market quotation and they have grown very large over
the last ten years. Their top man is called Leo Crawford. He has a
huge reputation in the city and is reputed to be ruthless in
takeover situations.”
    “ So what are you telling us Peter?” Dermot liked to keep it
simple and wondered where the discussion was going.
    Peter drew a
breath; this was his surprise for them, his coup.
    “Well it’s like
this,” he explained. “They explained to us that they were going for
ISO registration.”
    “ISO what?”
Michael asked.
    “ISO,” John
interjected, “is an international quality standard. To register for
it a company has to undergo a rigorous quality audit of its
procedures.”
    “That’s right,”
Peter acknowledged John’s supportive comment. “Associated Finance
have informed me that they have decided to put their retail
businesses, that is all their Supermarket chains up for
registration for the quality standard. They asked me to meet with
their ISO expert, someone called Janet Simmons.”
    “And how does
this affect us?” Michael asked.
    “Two ways,”
Peter explained, beginning to enjoy holding the attention of them
all. “There is good news and bad news.”
    “Good news
first,” Michael, Dorothy and Dermot said almost simultaneously, and
they all laughed.
    “Good news is,
they have picked us out of their computer analysis as a major
supplier across their Supermarkets, particularly dominant in areas
of quality produce such as organic foods.”
    “Don’t like the
sound of this,” Dermot said.
    “No, no,” Peter
corrected. “It is sound. They are really into this quality standard
thing. The bottom line is that if we measure up they will make us a
preferred supplier. The way they were talking I would be of the
view that this could give us a hundred and fifty million in sales
to them in a year. It is a major foot in the door, if I say so
myself.”
     
    “Now you are
talking,” Michael said warmly, “God I knew I raised an O’Byrne in
you Peter. This is great news. Will we be able to supply
Dermot?”
    “Of course
Michael, but not immediately. We would need time to build up and so
maintain quality. However there is a way, initially we could do
joint ventures with a number of other suppliers, under our branding
of course. If you get the business Peter, we can supply.”
    “Price?” James
said dryly, to bring Peter back to earth.
    “Price?” Peter
replied, puzzled.
    “Yes price. Did
they mention prices, margins and credit terms?”
    “No,” Peter
said sounding deliberate. “I assumed we were discussing on the
basis of existing terms.”
    “Sounds too
good to be true, do you want me to come back on this Michael?”
James asked.
    “No. No, we
have to keep you out in New Business Development James. It’s
crucial for the long term. I would like my boy to handle this. He
has brought in the deal, so we should let him run with it.”
    Peter sat back.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence Michael. I believe I can handle
this one. I’ll use Riseley where I can.”
    “The bad news
Peter?” Dorothy asked quietly, “You said good news and bad
news.”
     
    Dorothy was
unhappy with the turn of events. Peter was making a splash and him
hardly a wet week on the board.
     
    “It is the ISO
Registration,” Peter explained. “Apparently to register for ISO a
company has to be able to demonstrate that it has inspected
suppliers, to confirm supplier quality standards and so on. So they
want to inspect us.”
    “I don’t like
the sound of this,” Dermot commented.
    “ They will want to inspect out various storage units and
process plants. Especially they will want to confirm that the
produce we supply as Organic is truly organic.