Page 97 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 9

Open for Business

(1982–1984)

‘ I never would have imagined that there would be days when

we took no money at all, or that there would be weeks when
the takings didn’t cover the rent. ’

now wanted to get married as soon as possible, and while our
I parents made arrangements for the wedding we concentrated
on getting the shop open. Although I continued to work at Reid
Trevena Monday to Friday, I spent every Saturday in the shop, and
it was clear from the start that Aisha and I had completely
opposite views on almost everything.
I was very driven by margin and profit: to me it was all about
what a customer paid for a garment versus what we’d paid for it.
For Aisha, it was about the designs and developing a customer
base through attentive service. Sometimes I’d watch her put an
outfit together for a customer and she had a choice of a silk blouse
at £80 and a cotton blouse at £30 with a much smaller profit
margin, but if the cotton blouse looked better that’s the one Aisha
would choose. And if I was with a customer who was umming and

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