ABSTRACT
The late 1980s witnessed the rise of hundreds of quick-stop sock emporiums across the United States as well as abroad. These outlets proved superior to department store layouts in that they offered: attentive service; an eccentric inventory designed to appeal to hip tastes; and rapid turnovers in stock in order to keep up with ever-changing consumer demands. One of the field's prime success stories, the Sock Express chain in Manhattan, utilized its own factory so as to ensure an innovative product. The originator of the stockings-on-the-run concept was Sophie Mirman, an ex-secretary in London, who opened her first Sock Shop in 1983 at the busy Knightsbridge Underground station. Mirman's operating philosophy, socks should be as easy to buy as a newspaper, propelled her business into the big leagues. By early 1989, the chain had expanded to 118 outlets spanning Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the United States.
