(79) 'The Black Forest Coincidence'

[Ken]

This Cosy memory is best described by the word, 'LUCK.'  The word is defined in my dictionary as, 'A chance happening of a fortunate circumstance.'  This story tells of of a time when my skill failed to achieve my aims but a strange coincidence and a simple act of good fortune accomplished what my ability couldn't!

To tell the story I must first go back to the October of 1972 and the beautiful part of Germany known as the Black Forest.  Jenny and I were holidaying in the small town of Titisee, with our friends, John and Veronica McEntee.  We were enjoying one of the deals offered by Clarkson's holidays and the Court Line Airline.  Sadly these, cheap and cheerful, travel companies were not to last and, by the mid 1970's, both had ceased to trade.  We, however, truly got our monies worth during that long ago, four day, mini break. Sometimes, when we're up early on a cold and crispy morning, Jenny will take a deep breath and say to me, "Black Forest Weather."  Those four days were ones we would never forget for we so enjoyed the sights of that beautiful region.  We'd sit by the banks of the magnificent Lake Titisee and watch the sun set, while John and I consumed the German beers and our ladies sipped the local wines. We ate excellent food and Jenny marvelled, and cried with joy, at the tame black squirrels of the Black Forest. We all gained from the feeling of well being at the end of that holiday, but I was to gain even more some three months later.

In the February of 1973 I was sitting in the office of a Mr John Sage, the boss of a British footwear company called Simlam.  The easiest footwear to sell were the German made Adidas and Puma brands. These were owned by two brothers, who had been feuding with each other since the end of the second world war.  I'd found both companies were arrogant and hard to deal with and that was one reason I kept trade with them to a minimum.  The second reason was the abysmally low profit margins they offered.  I'd put an idea to John Sage that would see his British sports shoes outselling, at least in my shops, these better known German brands.  I'd suggested he could use the feedback from our success to entice other retailers to stock more Simlam and, in doing so, greatly increase their profits.  The question was, would he agree to the terms I demanded for me to make this possible?  Regrettably, his answer was a firm "NO!"

"Can't be done boy," he'd told me, when I'd insisted all that was needed for Simlam to outsell Puma and Adidas, was to get more customers to try them on.  I'd suggested that with my planned incentive scheme, my staff would ensure that happened and huge sales would follow.  I was just twenty six years old and so absurdly self confident that I'd angrily told this successful man, "Trouble with you is you lack confidence in your own products, there's no such thing as can't be done!"  However, I could tell this man, thirty years my senior, had made up his mind and there comes a time when it is futile to continue flogging a dead horse. The deal was not acceptable, so I thanked him for listening and changed the subject.  It was at this point that the luck of coincidence reared it head and it started when I asked if he been on holiday recently?

I knew from past meetings that John Sage was a keen photographer who liked to travel and his face brightened when he told me of a recent trip.  "The wife booked one of those Clarkson's budget holidays and bloody good it was boy," he said.  Of course I told him that I too had been on a Clarkson's holiday and when I added it was to the German Black Forest, John Sage became animated.  "Where did you stay boy?" he asked and when I replied, "Lake Titisee," he actually became excited.  Later, when we discovered that not only had we stayed at the same hotel, but our rooms were in the chalets annexed to the main building, he became almost euphoric.  I realised that John was a man who loved surprises and over lunch the surprises kept on coming.  Looking back the coincidence of what happened with our holidays seems almost impossible, for we discovered that not only had we stayed in the same hotel, but we'd even had the same room number.  Before that lunch was over we discovered we'd been on the same excursion to see the magnificent Rhine Falls, and we'd enjoyed visiting the same places whilst in Titisee.  As we laughed together, recalling some of the staff of our small hotel, I realised that this strange set of events was creating a new bond between our two companies.  One that was bringing John Sage and I closer together!

The next morning John telephoned me and said his wife wanted to know the date we'd stayed in Titesee and he almost choked when he discovered that we'd arrived on the evening of their departure. "I'm going to phone her straight away boy," he said, "She won't believe this, Oh, by the way, I thought a lot about yesterdays proposal and I've changed my mind, I think it's worth a shot!"  That was it, I'd suddenly got all that I'd wanted out of the blue, and I was able to implement so many new ideas because of that agreement. My staff saw their earnings rise dramatically because of that deal and our company became even more profitable.  John Sage was to see sales of his footwear reach levels he'd never thought possible as town after town saw Simlam become the premier brand.  The next time I saw him, he came with dozens of photo's of the four days in the Black Forest we'd almost shared.  Would he have changed his mind and agreed to my terms without the occurrence of that weird coincidence?  Perhaps, but I don't think so.  

 

         

[Ken]

This memory proves that sometimes skill alone isn't enough to succeed in life, for luck also plays it's part.  This fascinating event tells how a cheap four day holiday break and a most bizarre coincidence, forged a strong business friendship!