Toni, Dana and Melanie met early at Toni´s office on the day of the meeting with Dana´s corporate management. They were joined by two models who had driven up from Denver to show the clothes. Toni took them into the workroom and gave them instructions.
The three friends were dressed conservatively – as each of them defined it. Dana wore a blazer, blouse and skirt; Toni a charcoal gray ankle-length dress that fit her well, but its double row of brass buttons down the front was at once both concealing and eye-catching. Melanie wore a navy worsted double-breasted suit with a skirt that extended to just above her knees.
“I had to have this cleaned three times, just to get rid of the smell of moth-balls,’ she quipped. “And this...’ she indicated the heavy strand of pearls at her neck, rolling her eyes and chuckling deeply.
Precisely on time, their three guests arrived. Phil Prokosky, company president, was stocky, dark and energetic. Candace Philburn, chief financial officer, was slim and intense. The third member was Sandy Chang, Dana´s boss. Toni offered drinks, served Diet Cokes and mineral water. When everyone had settled down, Dana began.
“As I told you in earlier meetings,’ she said, “I have been talking with Toni and Melanie about the possibility of our company developing its business into a line of clothing aimed at women who want clothing that attracts attention on the sensual level.’
Phil interrupted, “Come on, Dana, let´s not get cutesy here. We´re here to see sexy clothes you think we can sell. Open a new market. Please, try and cut the bullshit to a minimum.’
Dana glanced at Candace. “Well, sure. We´re talking sexy clothes, however we may eventually describe them. Are we agreed?’
Candace replied. “I agree we´re talking sexy clothes. I don´t agree we´re going to market them. I want to talk about your business case, and there´s other issues we need to look at, too – like what a line like that does to the rest of our business. Go ahead.’
Dana resumed. “You´ve seen the business case we prepared, and I feel it presents a good base for long-term revenue and profit growth. Candace, you´ve seen it and we´ve discussed it briefly. What do you think?’
“I went over it carefully last night, Dana. It´s a good plan, as far as it goes.’
Phil asked, “Okay, Candace. What´s that mean? Is it good or not? For us, I mean.’
Candace looked smug. “The plan, like all business cases, projects good growth, a good return on assets – really, this one is more conservative than most. The trouble is, I have no idea what it´s based on, and no idea of the relative...’ she noticed Phil´s impatient shake of the head and cut through her own jargon. “Phil, I don´t know yet how far I can trust the assumptions. That´s the issue.’
Phil nodded. “That´s what I feel, too.’ He turned to Toni and Melanie. “I´m sorry. We haven´t given Dana a chance to do introductions. I´ve seen your resumes, of course.’ He looked at Toni. “Toni Francisco, right?’
“Right,’ Toni said.
“You did the uniforms for the Extreme Sports championships, right?’
“Yes. And I´m doing a line for Droger Supermarkets, too.’ She smiled at Phil. “Just so you don´t think everything I do is skin-tight.’
Melanie spoke up. “I´m Melanie von Dwingelo. I run a store here on the Mall. I was the one asked Toni to start developing these things for me; I needed something with quality: up-market, sexy clothes.
“Yeah, you´re ‘Dirty Duds´, right? I like the name. Cuts through the crap.’ Phil turned back to Dana. “Okay, I think the reason I´m here is to see if these things you want us to sell are any good. Candace has her doubts. Let´s get on with it.’
“My doubts,’ Candace said, “for the record, are that this stuff is anything we´d be caught dead selling. The figures are good, but I´ve never seen any clothes like you describe in the business plan that anyone would spend good money for.’
With a glance at Dana, Toni rose. “Candace, you have a good point. With few exceptions, it´s hard to buy sexy clothing in this country that isn´t cheap, flashy, shoddy or that doesn´t make you look like a tart. I´ve tried to avoid that.’
Toni turned to a flipchart on a stand. She lifted the cover sheet and gestured to the points as she made them. “My main business is designing work clothes. They have to be good quality, durable and reasonable in cost. I´m convinced we can provide the designs we propose here today with that same quality. I work with production sources in the Far East and South America who know my requirements, and they tell me they can meet my quality requirements for these designs. In fact, they are interested enough in getting into new lines they´re being quite competitive in price.’
She turned to Phil. “Phil, you need to see what we´re talking about. I´m going to let the clothes speak for themselves.’ She turned to Candace, “And, I´d really appreciate it, if you would look at these things very carefully. Of course, they´re hand-made samples, but you can be sure that the production will be the same quality. In every case, I know the fabric and findings are available and in most cases I have a firm bid on production from people I trust.’
Toni went to the workroom door and signaled the models. She stood by the door as the show began. The first two dresses were the cut-out cocktail dresses she had made for Dana and Jenny.
“Wow,’ Phil said, then lapsed into a deliberately quiet inspection of the dresses and their contents – from afar. Candace, however, beckoned to first one model, then the other. From her chair, she closely inspected the fit and construction, without touching either of the women. She asked them to show her the hems and seams of the garments and even, at Toni´s suggestion, looked to see how the enormous U-shaped cutouts were reinforced against the wear imposed by the clips that held things together. She fingered the fabric.
“These are in black. Do you plan other colors?’ she asked. Toni nodded and explained the proposed color schemes, turning up a chart page of swatches.
The next item was the blue bib overall Melanie had liked so much. Once again, and for the rest of the show, Phil – and Sandy, as well – withdrew into amazed silence as they looked over the display of flesh and fabric. Candace continued her painstaking examination of every item.
It was nearly two hours before the show was finished, ending with Toni´s sideless beach creation presented with a variety of almost irrelevant cover-ups that simply made the total effect more exciting than the shift alone. While they took a break, the models dressed and left.
Toni placed a stack of illustration boards on the easel.
“I didn´t want to discuss these while the models were here – there´s no secrecy in this business. But, these are some of the ideas I have for further designs.’ She quickly went through the boards, showing swatches of fabric and the occasional finding that made the design click.
“Finally,’ she said, “this is a major part of the proposal. I have here half-a-dozen garments that we got from others – other designers or manufacturers. Some of them are things Dana picked up in London or Paris, others are from friends of mine.’ She held up the dresses, set them on hangers where their guests could see the effect. Candace examined them all carefully.
“What is it about these things from Europe? Why are they special?’ she wanted to know.
Dana replied. “I got these two,’ she pulled them forward, “on Oxford Street in London. It´s the classiest shopping street for women´s clothes in London. These...’ she indicated two more, “come from Paris, on the Boulevard St. Germain, and from the rue de Rivoli, definitely high-end shopping.
“The point I´m making is that European women spend a lot of money on sexy clothes because they have a different view of their bodies than Americans. They demand the best in design and quality for their money. Our designs are just as good as these, and we could sell them to the European market while we´re developing the American one. These things make a difference because it tells us the market is there, if we want to make it work for us.’
Melanie spoke up. “These two have asked me to look at the marketing side of this. I´ve been in retail for fourteen years, now, and run my own stores for five. The store here on the Mall is the newest, the one I like the best.
“These designs have done wonders for my business since I began featuring them. I had a few things before, but the range was narrow. I couldn´t get quality merchandise, Candace, just as you say.’ She glanced at Toni and continued. “I had one customer who came to me for a whole new wardrobe of undergarments because she said, ‘You´ve got sexier stuff than Victoria´s Secret´. And that´s true.’
Melanie went to the easel, turning up her own page. Much of the information was based on Jenny´s research. “Here´s how I think we can begin marketing this line. I know a lot of other independent retailers like myself, and I´m getting to know more. All of them are looking for quality and design in sexy clothes, and the price is not the major factor. They have customers who will pay well for clothes they only show their lovers. And, they are really interested in things that cross boundaries, like those overalls.’
“What do you mean?’ Candace asked.
“You could wear that outfit to the office, Candace, just as long as you wear a t-shirt or a blouse with it.’
“You´re right. I could,’ she said, then blushed. “If I dared.’
Melanie looked at her candidly, “Candace, when I see some of the stuff girls wear to the office today, I wonder.’
Candace looked at her sharply. “So do I,’ she said.
“Okay,’ Phil said. “I need a wrap-up, here.’ He sat forward in his chair. “I think the clothes are terrific. I don´t mind saying they´ve really gotten me stirred up – and that´s what they´re supposed to do. Candace, I guess you think the quality is okay or you would´ve said something.’ Candace nodded her assent. “What about when our stockholders find out we´re selling this kind of stuff, instead of backpacks and camp shorts?’
Candace answered with assurance. “Phil, if this had been what I expected, they´d scream bloody murder. But what we´ve seen has every bit of the quality and design excellence our traditional lines have, don´t you think so?’
“Yeah,’ Phil nodded. “So, if we go with this, we can set it up off to the side – not hiding it, you understand – but distancing it, so the lines don´t become confused. Different name, make it a subsidiary, all that stuff. Right?’ Candace nodded. “Well, I still need to think about it. It´s a volatile market.’
Toni responded. “Thank you, Candace, for the vote of confidence. Phil, this market isn´t as volatile as the traditional fashion market. People are always looking for this kind of thing, and our good ideas won´t go out of style. We´ve got the designs, the merchandise. We´ve got a business plan that will work as well as any. We have a group of interested retailers. We´ve even been drumming up support on the Internet – Dana´s husband set up a web-site for us and we´re getting inquiries from retailers all over the place. Dana knows how to handle the distribution, as you well know. And, we have an ace in the hole for the short term.’
“What is it?’ Phil asked, obviously anxious to leave.
“A virtual division,’ Toni said. She looked wildly at Dana. “We can get as far as Phase Three of the plan, as it is set up, almost without staff, no offices, and with a minimum of inventory. Major cost savings.’
“You´re nuts,’ Phil said, and settled back in his chair, clearly expecting a rebuttal.
Dana grinned at Toni. “Phil, I can do the logistics setup and run it from my office right now. Put one of my people on it, low cost.’ She looked back at Toni, who took over with a wolfish grin.
“I do all the design and work with sourcing from here. I already do that by e-mail.’ Toni said. “We set up the deal so the manufacturers in the Far East, or wherever, hold the inventory and drop-ship by FedEx on demand. We use e-mail for ordering, invoicing – all of that. Our inventory cost is zip, and our shipping delay is one or two days.’ Suddenly a worried look crossed her face. “Uh, Dana, tell Phil how we handle order entry.’
Dana, on a roll, said, “Well, we´ll consolidate orders in the computers here and... and send shipping advices to the manufacturers who have the inventory. They ship via FedEx, or whatever, and advise us when they do. The retailer gets his order in three or four lots, that´s all, instead of one.’
Sandy, with a big grin, spoke up. “Phil, that´s why this woman is so wonderful. I´ll bet five bucks she just made that whole thing up on the fly. But she can make it work. And, it will work, Candace, I guarantee it. Not only have I seen her do this sort of thing, but I´d like to see the whole company moving in this direction.’
“Sounds to me,’ Phil said, grumpily, “like I´ll be the only one in the office. Everyone else will be working on their computers at home. I won´t be able to see what they´re doing!’
Dana said, “Live with it. Phil. You´ll cut costs, have happier employees and the profits will reflect it. Give it a try with this idea, then – if it works – see if you can spread it around.’
Phil looked at his financial advisor. “Candace?’
She took a deep breath. “I think it can work, Phil. The product is solid, I´d say – I´ve never seen stuff like this; I´d buy it myself. The business plan is better than I thought, especially if you throw in this virtual division. And, we can afford it, at least until it gets into serious trouble.’ She looked sharply at Dana, then smiled slightly. “Then, you´re dead, you know.’
Dana, smiling, only nodded.
Before long, the three guests had left. After the door closed and the sounds of their steps in the corridor faded, Melanie muttered. “I´ll bet five bucks I see her in the store…’ she looked at Toni, “...this week.’ They went to the window and watched until they saw Phil, Candace and Sandy leave the building, then burst into cheers and hugs. Toni ran to the refrigerator and opened a bottle of prosecco, pouring the sparkling wine into glasses for each of them.
Dana looked at her glass, “What did you have for when they said, ‘No´?’
“Bitters,’ Toni grinned. “Campari. But we didn´t need it. I knew we wouldn´t.’
“Well,’ Dana said, sipping, “I think it was that virtual division thing that did it. Phil loved the clothes, but I know him. He needed something that would sell him. That was it. Where did you come up with that?’
“Out of nowhere,’ Toni said. “But you really ran with it. How come?’
“Been in the back of my mind for months. Ed and I talk about it, now and then.’ She turned to Melanie. “What do you think, Mel? And, what else are you wearing besides that bullshit suit? I´ve been wondering all afternoon.’
“It´s wonderful,’ Melanie said, unbuttoning her jacket, “We´re going to have a ball, all of us.’ She threw off the jacket, unzipped her skirt. “Nothing. Nothing at all. That´s what else I´m wearing.’ She stood in the middle of the office, clad only in shoes and pearls. “Who wants to celebrate? How about more wine?’