No one wanted to show how shaken and weakened they were to the public, especially if their livelihood depended on them looking confident.
That was how companies were.
During a hard time, as long as they still had a room to breathe, they'd want to present themselves as a steady, confident pillar. They'd like to tell the world they were fine, that their internal structure was still sound, that they'd survive everything. Otherwise, how could they convince the shareholder not to leave? How could they pull in new investors to save them from the crisis?
And nothing spelled 'we're fine and going strong' like maintaining an annual tradition.
Like many others, for HS Group, it was the chairman's open house event in the New Year.
