Overview
More than two centuries ago, a dwarf named Betur founded a modest merchant house. He was the sole employee, and the house was focused on shipping out ore from the small town Betur lived in to the larger dwarven hold some ways away.
If it had been almost any other person, this tiny enterprise who have remained small and insignificant. But Betur was nothing if not obsessed with success and wealth.
With each passing year, Betur made improvements to his company, taking on larger and more varied shipments. Before long, he had opened up a second location, and then a third. As the years passed, Betur’s Trade Conglomerate took on all manner of shipments, opening locations throughout the land.
Today, Betur’s Trade Conglomerate is one of the largest – if not the largest – merchant houses in all the land. With a Tradehold found in every town and city of even middling importance, most of the supplies and items one receives throughout their lives are delivered by Betur’s people.
The Conglomerate’s Symbol is a stylized caravan wagon, surrounded by a circle made up of various goods – silk, ore, weapons, clothes, wheat, and more. Its motto is “ever further”.
Organization
Betur is now more than three hundred years old. Although his body is not as strong as it once was, his mind is as sharp as ever. He currently resides in Tarsis City, in the headquarters of his mercantile empire. From there, he oversees everything, surrounded by a loyal and well-paid group of aides.
Betur has six children. He took great care to educate all of them in the art of trade and economics, making them as capable – if not more so – than him. As a result of this, the six biggest Tradeholds after Tarsis are operated by Betur’s children. For example, his daughter Berina is the manager of the Ptolus Tradehold.
Other major Tradeholds are managed by Betur’s trusted friends and aides, people who worked alongside him for many years or decades before being given a managerial position of their own.
The remaining Tradeholds operate on more or less a franchise system. Betur buys up pre-existing merchant houses and keeps much – if not all – of the personnel. They are told to continue business as normal, only under a new name – and with new opportunities afforded to them. They are, of course, expected to produce specific results and stick to a specific schedule when it comes to deliveries and the like. Moreover, they are obliged to give Betur a percentage of their earnings.
Operation
There is no item or material that Betur’s Trade Conglomerate does not transport, buy or sell. Throughout the year, Betur has signed many deals with various businesses, ranging from silk weavers to farmers to miners. All such deals involve an exclusivity clause – all items produced or desired by the signee must be handled by Betur’s Conglomerate.
In the most used and safe trade routes, Betur’s Trade Conglomerate organizes their own caravans. Usually, these caravans are comprised of more than a dozen carts, accompanied by a good number of guards too. These caravans operate continuously, each one following a set path throughout the continent – or even beyond, since Betur also operates various merchant ships.
When it comes to less traveled trade routes – or ones that are more dangerous – Betur’s caravans seek out cooperation. They combine with private shipments or take on other travelers, in order to ensure that they reach their destination safely.
In general, Betur’s caravans are known for delivering wares in all places, even through danger. While other merchant houses might balk at the cost of carrying wares through such dangerous routes, Betur recognizes the good publicity it brings to his Conglomerate to do this. Entire communities rely on Betur to have their necessary goods delivered on time. What’s more, there is money to be gained too – Betur’s Conglomerate is willing to carry out all trade expeditions, but it is up to the people sending or requiring the goods to pay for guards in dangerous situations.
In rare cases, an entire caravan can be formed at the behest of a single person who needs to transport specific goods. The charges are exorbitant in such an event, but wealthy folk are more than happy to pay thanks to the Conglomerate’s reputation and tough, “get it done” attitude.
Each Tradehold acts as business office, warehouse and transit hub. It is where caravan leaders go to be briefed, where business owners go to make deals and where wares are stored – although, in larger cities like Ptolus, secondary warehouses also exist due to the sheer amount of goods that pass through.
Controversy
Most common folk don’t really have much of an opinion about Betur’s Conglomerate. Seeing the Conglomerate’s Tradeholds and caravans in their cities and towns is just a fact of life, like seeing the local bakery.
Those in more distant lands see the Conglomerate in a very good light, since they are the ones who most often brave the elements and monsters to bring them the goods they desire or buy their own supplies.
However, many people in power throughout the continent – as well as many business leaders – do not particularly like the Conglomerate. They view Betur and his enterprise as a monopoly in the making, with Betur being intent on becoming the sole mercantile business owner in the land.
This statement, while perhaps a touch overblown, is not entirely false. Throughout the past two centuries, Betur has incorporated a majority of the continent’s merchant houses into his Conglomerate, with only a handful of houses able to stand up to him at least regionally. What’s more, through the various exclusivity contracts Betur signs with businesses, he also gains control over them, if indirectly. Many among the continent’s scholars believe that if this continues, Betur will have the strength to control entire nations purely by promising them goods or cutting off their flow.
For now, no action has been taken against Betur, and a united front has not been forged. Betur himself has seen to this, with a few well-placed bribes. However, the calls for something to be done grow stronger and stronger, and it remains to be seen what happens.
What’s more, Betur’s own household is not as stable as he’d like. Betur is growing old, and, even if he has a few more decades left, that’s not enough time. He wants to be succeeded by his eldest son Brenor, but his other children disagree – and they all own parts of the Conglomerate. If the situation is not sorted before Betur dies, the various governments of the continent won’t need to do anything to break Betur’s business up – it will break into six pieces all on its own.
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