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Polly sighed, running her fingers through her hair before beginning to twist it back into a looser, lower knot It felt alers busy thele of tresses

‘We were one of the first stores in London to stock bikinis Can you i and a London still two decades and a generation froht several bikinis over froe to The Times

‘We were the first to unveil the latest trends, to sell e and noe’re part of a tour that includes Buckingham Palace and Madame Tussauds’ The conte well financially, really well, but we’re no longer cutting edge We’re safe, steady, ed’ Polly wrinkled her nose as she spoke

It was true; Rafferty’s was a byword for elegance, taste and design but not for innovation, not any ital vision could only sell the existing ranges But it was fabulously profitable with a brand recognition that was through the roof; wasn’t that enough? ‘Can a store this size actually be cutting edge any more? Surely that’s the Internet’s role’

‘I disagree’ She shook her head vehee, the passion and the history The problener or a new range, to hand over valuable floor space to somebody little known and unproven—and if they have already established the’

‘So, what do you plan to do about it?’ This was ain, sharp

‘Pop-ups’

‘Pardon?’

‘Pop-ups Bright, fun and relatively low cost We can create a pop-up area in store for new designers whether it’s clothes, jewellery, shoes—we’ll charaduate show during London fashion week in the allery’

That made a lot of sense

‘But I don’t just want to draw people here I want to go out and find thereat opportunity to take Rafferty’s out of the city as well Where do we have the biggest footfall?’

It was a good thing he’d pulled those eighteen-hour days; he could ansith utter confidence ‘The food hall’