The Mech Touch

An army of tailors were working in an expansive studio specifically set aside for them. Numerous different garments and fabrics were being worked with by hand rather than with machines.

Though there was nothing wrong with tailoring clothes with modern machinery, the products they produced lacked a personal touch.

For something as important as their wedding, Gloriana did not want to make this mistake!

In the studio, hundreds of different clothes were being made. The Wodin Dynasty expended quite some effort in hiring the top tailors, creative directors and other professionals from the Hegemony.

At a work table separate from where most of the tailors were working, an eager Gloriana and a hapless-looking Ves were looking at the projections of their wedding outfits.

"Why am I here?" Ves tiredly asked.

"I told you, Ves. I need you to bless our clothes! My dress has to be as unique as possible and your suit must increase your stature to the maximum possible extent. I won't allow anyone to think you're an unworthy husband!"

Ves inwardly shook his head. He accomplished many more feats than her in the time they were together.

Without him, the Larkinson Clan wouldn't exist. Without him, the LMC wouldn't have been able to sell so many mechs. Without him, the clan wouldn't have welcomed 5 new expert pilots!

She slapped his arm. "Hey! Stop daydreaming! You need to help make our new clothes. I've taken the liberty of bringing out your Pride of Dusk. We can use it as the foundation of your suit!"

"Wait, what? That's mine!"

"It's too crude and barbaric. While the craftsmanship is decent, what can you expect from a third-class tailor working on a tourist planet?"

"Even if I don't wear it anymore doesn't mean I'm okay with tearing it apart! It's a part of my history, Gloriana!"

"How can we make a fitting suit for you if we can't make use of that outfit?"

"There are plenty of other options. I've progressed a lot since I was gone. I can empower our outfits to a much greater degree than before. I have much more control over the process as well. Whatever you want, I can deliver."

"Really?" Gloriana's eyes sparkled.

"Uhm, within reason."

"GREAT!"

While Ves didn't have a great understanding of fashion, he didn't have to go outside of his comfort zone. Gloriana and the tailors prepared the clothes. Ves just had to be involved in order to turn them into totems of sorts.

Fortunately, she only insisted on applying this treatment to their own outfits. If Ves had to empower the clothes of all of the Larkinsons attending the wedding, he would need at least a year to finish all of that work!

Once Gloriana let him go, he dragged his tired body out of the studio and returned to his office.

Lucky was gone. He probably sneaked off with Clixie again. Fortunately, Ves had another pet to keep him company.

"Benny. I'm not used to seeing you in the flesh. It feels strange for me to get back to this routine."

Gavin gestured to the woman standing next to him. "Do you remember offering me to become the president of the Living Star Club?"

"I do. You rejected it if I recall. Very curious."

"Calsie would like to become the president if you'll allow it. I think she is suited to manage the club on your behalf."

Ves raised his eyebrow.

Neither Gavin nor Calsie were students anymore. Their age was already beginning to show how mature they looked. Ves was well aware that they had made use of the resources of the Larkinson Clan to acquire more competences and develop more skills.

That was good. Both of them were ambitious and they did not want to be supplanted by the talented or experienced newcomers who were joining the clan in droves.

"I'm not too sure about this." Ves said. "Calsie, your experience so far has been rather mixed, but overall you have largely played a supervisory role. Even though you held my seat for some time, you don't have a lot of executive experience."

The woman in question did not look deterred. "I have done my best to catch up. I have never stopped taking classes and I have done a lot of learning by doing. In my current position, I have worked hard to make sure that all of the LMC branches abide by our directives and make good use of the loyalty medallions you've made. Now, even if no one is in charge, the branches will still pass on the medallions to the next directors."

While it was difficult to determine how much of a role she played, she wasn't wrong. So far, the various branches had never produced a problem that required him to intervene in person. He never wanted to pay attention to them because he wasn't interested in managing these tedious matters.

As long as the branches ensured that third-party manufacturers produced LMC mechs without impairing quality or embezzling money, Ves could care less what they did. The holders of the Larkinson Loyalty Medallions weren't really Larkinsons anyway. The only reason to connect them to the Larkinson Network was to ensure they stayed loyal.

Ves leaned back in his chair. "Tell me your vision for the Living Star Club. What do you think it is and where do you want to take it? While I originally set it up in haste in order to solve the Doom Guard Scandal, it can be so much more."

"I agree." Calsie grew a little more confident. Since Ves did not reject her out of hand, it meant she had a chance. "It's not unusual for mech companies to organize member clubs. It's an excellent means to increase retention. Customers are rewarded for their loyalty while companies can develop closer relationships with the people who buy most of their products."

"I know all of that. What I would like to know is what you plan to do to make the Living Star Club an asset to the LMC. It can easily become a burden if you're pursuing the wrong strategy."

"While I can't guarantee that my plan will succeed, I believe it best fits your vision."

"Okay then. Explain."

Calsie began to outline her plan. "No one has worked longer for you than Gavin and myself. We know what kind of mechs you design and what you aim to accomplish with them. We can use the Living Star Club as a means to ensure the longevity of our products. In my opinion, membership should not be tied to an individual. Instead, it should be a family."

Now this was new. Ves sat up straighter in his chair. "A family?"

"Yes. We can also implement other means for mech pilots and owners to pass on their rights to a chosen successor. The point is to make sure that the benefits of membership aren't lost upon death or retirement once it has upgraded its membership tier or accrued a lot of Star Points. If you're afraid that the club will be stacked with 10-Star members, we can impose a tax on transfers."

This sounded very intriguing to Ves. He had to admit that Calsie knew him well. He hadn't formally introduced the concept of legacy mechs to the LMC, but already Calsie was thinking about developing a mechanism of converting the successors of their existing customers!

"What is the purpose of establishing an inheritance mechanism?"

"Developing generational loyalty." Calsie forcefully stated. "The son should inherit his father's fascination towards LMC mechs. The daughter cannot bear to buy her mechs elsewhere when she can inherit her mother's hard-fought privilege to purchase LMC mechs at a discount."

"LMC mechs are already notable for their high customer retention. This is one of the aspects that I have always concentrated on. Even before the Living Star Club came into existence, we already built up a lot of repeat customers."

"This is different, sir. While it is true that our existing customers are likely to become lifelong fans of our products, it isn't necessarily the case that their successors will follow suit. While our mechs offer a lot of value, much of it is tied to individual user experience. It's very hard to translate that value into numbers. Not only that, our products are sold at a hefty premium. They're considered luxury products. Since not every customer is that well-off, we need to provide them with an additional incentive to enter our system."

She proceeded to elaborate on her development strategy. What stood out was that she wanted the LMC to invest heavily in the Living Star Club. It needed to build up a reputation and reinforce its prestigious image as aggressively as possible.

"Right now, sales are going well, and they're projected to get better in the future. Instead of turning the LSC into an additional revenue source, we should put more money into it in order to increase its desirability. Once others hear about the amazing benefits its members have access to, a lot more people will try to become a member."

"What should the criteria for membership be?" Ves questioned. "Right now, aside from the victims of the Doom Guard Scandal, only people who have bought more than a thousand of our mechs can enter."

"I think we should open up more opportunities to become a member. I want to lower the barrier to a more reasonable standard so that regular customers can become a Star Member if they work hard enough. I believe the Living Star Club should orient itself towards the smaller players rather than the major clients. The requirement to buy 1000 mechs may send the right message, but it attracts the wrong sort of buyers."

That was quite interesting. Calsie wanted to target the bottom end of the market. Ves had difficulty seeing why. Smaller customers may be a lot more numerous, but their buying power was a lot worse.

She smiled. "I'm not talking about the poorest consumers who can barely scrounge up the money to purchase an economy mech. The private sector is dominated by small-to-medium-sized outfits. In most states, mercenary corps and security companies comprise the biggest market segments. If we can engage them with the Living Star Club, we can establish continuity of sales when times are good and when times are bad. Even if the LMC falls into a slump for whatever reason, the considerable amount of Star Members that we have built up will not easily switch brands."

"And what about the major clients who are used to purchasing mechs by the hundreds?"

"We can adopt a separate approach to reel them in. You know as well as we do that major clients are less loyal by nature. They're used to mixing and matching mechs from multiple brands. There are some cases where they commit to a single brand to simplify logistics, but this is rare as it exposes them to specific counters. Unless you're willing to to provide them with permanent discounts for major orders, it won't be as easy to keep them in our pocket."

There were good reasons to charge a high price for his products. Frequently offering discounts or making them too accessible was no different from devaluing them. He might as well lower their base prices if he wanted to attract more customers.

As Calsie continued to outline her intentions, Ves eventually raised his palm. "I've heard enough. While I'm not entirely sure whether your vision is feasible, I'm inclined to give you a chance. Please work with Marketing to flesh out your plan. I need to know what others think about steering the LSC in this direction."

"Thank you, sir. I will get back to you after the wedding."

Ves smiled encouragingly at her. "Personally, I like the way you think. Developing generational loyalty is exactly what I want to achieve. The LMC is in it for the long run. I've always been interested in meeting the needs of average customers. They are in most need of good mechs."

He had never forgotten about his purpose. Mech designers existed to serve mech pilots. Of the latter, those who worked for the military or well-funded organizations were spoiled for choice.

Instead, it was mercenaries and company grunts who most needed a living mech!