rid of us in a heartbeat if we don’t go along with what she says.’ His lips were set in a thin line, his gaze stony. ‘Is that not correct, Emma?’
Emma steeled herself. She’d hadn’t expected this to be easy.
You have to be tough, you have to be tough.
She had spoken in front of CEOs of Forbes listed companies before now, but this audience, particularly Roger, who always intimated her even as a child, was making her feel sick. Emma leaned forward and put her hands on the table.
‘I know this may come as a surprise, Roger,’ she began, as levelly as she could. ‘And I know some of you might not even think I should be here. But I think I can bring a lot to Milford. Yes, I don’t know the company as intimately as most people in this room, but perhaps that’s a good thing. Maybe we need to start thinking out of the box if Milford is going to recover.’
‘Spare us your management consultancy,’ said Roger tartly.
‘And what do you mean by
recover?’
asked her mother, who had a cold look of disapproval.
Emma sat up in her chair, grateful for the opportunity to show them what she was good at.
‘Since my arrival in England I’ve spent time getting up to speed with the company and where the luxury goods industry is, at large.’ She opened a folder and passed some charts around the table.
‘I’ve prepared these for you to look at. Milford’s market share in the luxury leather goods is now, well, negligible. In the early 1980s we were competing with Gucci. I hardly need to point out that they and many other companies have now eclipsed Milford by a country mile. We have to modernize quickly if we’re to survive but I really believe we can recapture some of our old glory.’
‘Perhaps we haven’t had the best couple of years,’ interrupted Roger, looking around for support. ‘But the new Autumn/Winter line is strong. At our last meeting Saul talked about increasing the marketing budget and we all agreed that that was the way forward.’
Emma noticed that Virginia and Julia were nodding, while Ruan and Abby looked less convinced.
‘Unfortunately I think the problem runs a little deeper than that,’ said Emma. She leant under the table and came up holding a handbag which she placed on the table top.
‘I think I’m right in saying this is the most popular bag from our current line. The “Rebecca”?’
‘That’s right,’ said Ruan.
‘It’s an elegant bag for our existing customer-base,’ said Emma as diplomatically as she could. ‘But that customer-base is ageing. We’re seen as a traditional company.
Too
traditional.’
‘You’re saying that people don’t want our merchandise?’ snapped Roger. His tone was sharp and defensive.
‘Roger, I respect your experience but we have to look at the figures ruthlessly,’ said Emma. ‘Milford’s sales and profits are on a steep downwards turn and yet the high-end accessories market is booming. You can blame marketing if you like, but the buck has to stop at the product.’
Roger barked out a hollow laugh.
‘Since when have you been an expert in accessories design?’ he said. ‘I thought Cassandra was the style guru in our family.’
‘I’m not an expert on fashion, no,’ she said candidly. ‘But I do know about business and I know about the people who can afford super-luxury products. They’re a cash-rich, time-poor demographic. Women who can afford £2,000 handbags have busy lives. They want bags that are beautiful and functional, not stiff and formal. They want bags that make them feel sexy. Lifestyle statements. We needsleek, discreet luggage that can go from the airport to the boardroom. We need to update our products for the new millennium.’
She moved the Rebecca bag to one side and opened her laptop which was connected to one of the video screens in the wall. She pressed a key and a huge image of a Hermès ‘Birkin’ bag appeared.
‘We sold 55 Rebecca bags last year,’ said Emma. ‘Hermès on the other hand has a
Emma steeled herself. She’d hadn’t expected this to be easy.
You have to be tough, you have to be tough.
She had spoken in front of CEOs of Forbes listed companies before now, but this audience, particularly Roger, who always intimated her even as a child, was making her feel sick. Emma leaned forward and put her hands on the table.
‘I know this may come as a surprise, Roger,’ she began, as levelly as she could. ‘And I know some of you might not even think I should be here. But I think I can bring a lot to Milford. Yes, I don’t know the company as intimately as most people in this room, but perhaps that’s a good thing. Maybe we need to start thinking out of the box if Milford is going to recover.’
‘Spare us your management consultancy,’ said Roger tartly.
‘And what do you mean by
recover?’
asked her mother, who had a cold look of disapproval.
Emma sat up in her chair, grateful for the opportunity to show them what she was good at.
‘Since my arrival in England I’ve spent time getting up to speed with the company and where the luxury goods industry is, at large.’ She opened a folder and passed some charts around the table.
‘I’ve prepared these for you to look at. Milford’s market share in the luxury leather goods is now, well, negligible. In the early 1980s we were competing with Gucci. I hardly need to point out that they and many other companies have now eclipsed Milford by a country mile. We have to modernize quickly if we’re to survive but I really believe we can recapture some of our old glory.’
‘Perhaps we haven’t had the best couple of years,’ interrupted Roger, looking around for support. ‘But the new Autumn/Winter line is strong. At our last meeting Saul talked about increasing the marketing budget and we all agreed that that was the way forward.’
Emma noticed that Virginia and Julia were nodding, while Ruan and Abby looked less convinced.
‘Unfortunately I think the problem runs a little deeper than that,’ said Emma. She leant under the table and came up holding a handbag which she placed on the table top.
‘I think I’m right in saying this is the most popular bag from our current line. The “Rebecca”?’
‘That’s right,’ said Ruan.
‘It’s an elegant bag for our existing customer-base,’ said Emma as diplomatically as she could. ‘But that customer-base is ageing. We’re seen as a traditional company.
Too
traditional.’
‘You’re saying that people don’t want our merchandise?’ snapped Roger. His tone was sharp and defensive.
‘Roger, I respect your experience but we have to look at the figures ruthlessly,’ said Emma. ‘Milford’s sales and profits are on a steep downwards turn and yet the high-end accessories market is booming. You can blame marketing if you like, but the buck has to stop at the product.’
Roger barked out a hollow laugh.
‘Since when have you been an expert in accessories design?’ he said. ‘I thought Cassandra was the style guru in our family.’
‘I’m not an expert on fashion, no,’ she said candidly. ‘But I do know about business and I know about the people who can afford super-luxury products. They’re a cash-rich, time-poor demographic. Women who can afford £2,000 handbags have busy lives. They want bags that are beautiful and functional, not stiff and formal. They want bags that make them feel sexy. Lifestyle statements. We needsleek, discreet luggage that can go from the airport to the boardroom. We need to update our products for the new millennium.’
She moved the Rebecca bag to one side and opened her laptop which was connected to one of the video screens in the wall. She pressed a key and a huge image of a Hermès ‘Birkin’ bag appeared.
‘We sold 55 Rebecca bags last year,’ said Emma. ‘Hermès on the other hand has a
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