Excluding holidays, the average annual income of the working class in the kingdom of Kolas is about 100 gold talers, which is exactly stuck on the dividing line between "low income" and "middle class". This makes sense, given the hectic pace of life of the working class, who have to be strict on time to and from work, and who have a real need to buy clocks, while farmers live at a slower pace and do not need to rely on clocks to organize their schedules, at least so far.

With an annual family income of 100 gold tale, all kinds of consumption account for two-thirds, and the annual deposit of 20~30 gold taler for working families should be a common phenomenon.

After some mental arithmetic, Roland confirmed that the prices set by Isabel for the table clock and pocket watch were basically in line with the spending power of the urban working class, so he rubbed his hands together and took a step closer to the watch booth.

"Isabel, I fully support your positioning of the price of the product and the target customer group, and by the way, have you registered a patent or trademark for this epoch-making industrial timepiece?"

"It has been registered with the patent office," Isabel replied confidently, "The clocks produced by our factory will be stamped with the brand steel seal, because they are clocks produced for ordinary people, so the trademark is called the 'Volkswagen' brand!" ”

"'Volkswagen'......" Roland lowered his hands, and after a brief moment of stunnedness, he was silent.

"Miss Isabel, would you like to reconsider?" Semyon Ivanovich couldn't help but object, "First of all, I have to admit that your factory has indeed reduced the cost of clocks to an incredible price, but this does not change people's traditional perception of clocks, at least in the eyes of most people, clocks are still a luxury, even working families have to pay a few years of savings to afford it, so when buying clocks and watches, they will inevitably bring the mentality of buying luxury goods, and even have a complacent mentality, as if they have become a big guy, And when you name your watch brand 'Volkswagen', it's like a slap in the face to wake customers up from their illusions, making them realize that they are still part of the crowd, and the smugness of buying luxury goods will disappear, which may ruin their shopping interest and even encourage them to abandon the idea of buying a watch. ”

"Very well said, Semyon Ivanovich, you have a good analysis of the consumer psychology of the masses." Roland nodded in agreement.

"So, Miss Isabel, should we not be in a hurry to make a decision, why not ask His Royal Highness the Prince to choose a more appropriate trademark for the factory-produced clocks and watches that will arouse the public's desire to shop?" Semyon Ivanovich made explicit hints.

Roland rubbed his hands again and looked at the factory director and was silent.

"Don't!" Isabel stomped her foot, as if to be coquettish, "I like the brand 'Volkswagen Watch' very much, and I just want to use this trademark!" Mr. Semyon Ivanovich, what you just said is nothing more than an attempt to stimulate the vanity of customers, which is a means of selling luxury goods, and the clocks and pocket watches produced in our factories are to compete with handmade luxury goods. Our government has tirelessly declared in the newspapers that 'the Far East is the country of the people of the Far East, and the government is an institution for the welfare of the masses', and these slogans must of course be put into action, so that the masses can truly feel that they are the masters of the country, and that the government is working for them, not for the very few rich people who advocate luxury, and that the 'mass watches' we produce at good quality and low prices are exactly in line with this concept, and that the masses need self-confidence, not vanity, so why should they not dare to admit that they are part of the masses? Is 'the masses' – the 'masters of the country' repeatedly advertised in the newspapers – a derogatory term? ”

Isabel's questioning left Semyon Ivanovich speechless, and he shrugged his shoulders and said he would withdraw from the argument.

However, Isabel did not stop there, and continued: "Even in the international market, our 'mass watches' have a unique brand competitiveness, no matter in which country, the middle and low income people are always the majority, but only we, the newly formed kingdom of Kolas, are willing to produce a kind of clock for these people who have been neglected by the powerful and can afford it, pull the clock down from the altar of luxury, and make people aware of the clock - and all other luxury goods - It's not because of the high cost that it can become the exclusive product of the rich, but simply because the rich need to show off their nobility and wealth with the help of these things, trying to build an invisible wall between themselves and the public with expensive luxuries, so as to show that they are a privileged class on top! His Majesty Rudolph once declared in his New Year's address, 'We in the government of Kolas are not slaves of a very small number of rich and privileged classes, and the improvement of the well-being of the masses is our common goal', and His Highness Roland's agricultural reform and transportation construction program was not carried out to satisfy the vanity of the rich and powerful, so why does our state-run watch factory dare not shout the slogan of producing 'mass watches' for the general public at home and even for the whole world? I don't think there's any shame in this, the 'public watch' is ashamed to be in the company of luxury, shame to be in the company of the rich and powerful, this is precisely our pride! ”

Roland was not only deeply touched by Isabel's impassioned words, but also the mechanics and ordinary workers outside the half-open door of the product showroom, who stopped and applauded their beautiful and characterful factory manager! In the past, some people may have doubts and even dissatisfaction with such a young girl serving as the director of a large state-owned factory, but at this moment, listening to her thought-provoking words, I can't help but dispel my contempt and replace it with awe!

Listening to Isabel's words, and thinking that she herself was born in a wealthy family of eunuchs, Roland became more and more deeply admired this maverick girl, and heard a spirit of being ahead of the times from her heartfelt words.

PS. On the level of income of workers

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith made the following statistics on wages in the United States in the late 18th century:

In New York, the average labourer's day is paid 3 shillings and 6 pence (2 shillings). In addition to 10 shillings and 6 pence in a day, the shipbuilder earns 1 pint of sugar and wine worth 6 pence (a total of 6 shillings and 6 pence); Plasterers and construction carpenters, on the other hand, earn 8 shillings (4 shillings and 6 pence) a day; Even the tailor can earn 5 shillings (2 shillings and 10 pence) a day...... These wages are higher than those of their London counterparts.

……

The book simply equates the purchasing power of 1 shilling (British currency) to 1 thaler of silver, and thus calculates that the average daily wage of a worker in the capital region of the kingdom of Kolas is 3 silver thalers, and the average annual income after holidays is about 100 gold thalers.