A Shop That Knows Its Stock

The specialist shop earns its space by knowing why each object is there. Stock is not an accumulation of available brands but a sequence of decisions, revised by returns, repairs and conversations at the counter. The proprietor remembers which kettle developed a fault, which shirt changed its cloth and which manufacturer still answers the telephone. This knowledge is a service that no infinite shelf can reproduce.

A later version will examine one such shop in detail. The central virtue is refusal. A shop with a point of view must decline products that are fashionable, profitable or almost good enough. Fewer choices can then carry more information. The customer leaves not merely with an object but with a reason for preferring it and a place to return when use produces a better question.