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“I don’t love being summoned here like I’m your secretary,” Mr. Dressel says.

“What couldn’t wait for next week?” Mrs. Yaltzinger asks.

“What’s the number one rule for couture?” I ask. “More than anything else, you find success if you have this one thing.”

“Exclusivity?” Mr. Dressel asks.

“Endorsements,” Mr. Jimenez says. “Celebrity endorsements.”

“None of those things hurt,” I say. “But the reason exclusivity matters, is that people want to feelspecial. The reason celebrity endorsements work is that people think celebrities are special, so they want to be like them too. . .so they can also feel special.”

The entire board stares.

“Think about it.” I stand up and start to pace. “When we limit releases, it’s not because we onlywantto sell a hundred of something, or a thousand. We’d always like to sell a million of everything. But for most of our products, there aren’t a million people who could afford them. To sell that many, we’d have to lower the price so everyone could afford them. And if it’s a watch or a men’s dress shoe that everyone can afford?”

“No one wants it,” Mr. Dressel says. “That’s the problem with any kind of discount brand. The lower you make the price, the more you sell. The more you sell, the less exclusive it becomes, and the less people will pay, cannibalizing your profit.”

I nod. “You’ve all heard of personal shoppers. It was a huge fad for a while, and in fact, there were lots of online companies capitalizing on it. They offered ‘online shoppers’ for any budget. They’re trying to turn a profit from people who have less money to spend, but they want them to spend it on the products those shoppers choose.”

“Sure,” Mrs. Yaltzinger says. “High-end stores like Nordstrom and Saks have always had personal shoppers.”

I nod slowly. “So we’re going to offer to partner, on an invite only basis, with several of the best women’s lines, and we’re going to tell them we want thirty percent of their gross revenue. . .”

“Why would they partner with us?” Mr. Jimenez asks. “We’re their competition.”

“Not for women’s goods, we’re not. Instead of havingour own line, we’re going to offer a very exclusive service to women that’s only available to those who are sponsored by a man in their life who’s an existing client of ours.” I smile.

“How will we do that?” Mrs. Yaltzinger frowns.

“We’ll send emailsonlyto people who have placed an order with us, and if someone’s wifewantsthis service, she’ll encourage her husband?—”

“To buy from our men’s line,” Mrs. Yaltzinger is smiling now. “So it will increase existing sales and create a new revenue stream.”

“Exactly,” I say.

“And it’s exclusive,” Mr. Dressel says.

“They have to be ‘special’ to even be eligible for this service,” I say. “And once the women have been matched, they’ll meet with one of our elite team of magic makers.”

“Magic makers?” Mrs. Yaltzinger frowns. “That sounds like a Disney thing.”

“Fine. Pick another name.” I wave my hand through the air. “It doesn’t matter. Each one of them, and there won’t be many, will be stylish, well-versed on every single item we’re able to sell, and will be trained to find things that will be flattering for every body shape.”

“How will that differ from any other service that Nordstrom or Saks offers, other than being more limited in their selection?” Mr. Jimenez looks skeptical.

“Those people are peddling outfits. We’re going to promise people that we’ll create a new look for them. If we select them as a client, theywillstand out at whatever event they choose to attend. We could even call it Rough Diamonds.” I beam. “I love that, actually.”

“How can you be sure it’ll work?” Mr. Dressel asks. “What if people hate it?”

“We’ll have a full refund guarantee,” I say, “because we’ll demand that from our suppliers.”

“Who would agree to that?” Mr. Jimenez frowns.

“Who wouldn’t, if their products are really as amazing as they say?”

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Yaltzinger says. “I doubt they’ll be keen to accept returns on things people have already worn.”

“They already do,” I say. “Nordstrom has one of the most generous return policies in the world, which is how used designer heels wind up at Nordstrom Rack.”

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