On the opposite corner from Percy Ingle and facing Faris's Supermarket at the junction of the High Street and Mission grove, was a shop which had Must Have Fashion on the sign over the door. The place had a period under new management when it was called Rumours. Rumours of its demise were not premature sadly, and it now had an estate agent's sign above it.
Rumours sold Ladies Wear, from teenagers upwards. The effort that had gone into the colour-co-ordination of the displays (a wall of black and white casual clothes to the right of the entrance faces a well-displayed wall of colourful spring clothes) suggested to me when I visited that the merchandise would be expensive, but it was not. The prices could easily compete with the market and other ladies shops around. Tops started at £2, jeans ranged from £5 upwards, jackets from £8 etc. Rumours also stocked coloured contact lenses for young ladies. Probably, at these prices, they would have had trouble covering their overheads unless their volume was quite high. There was minimal advertising.
More sadly, the careful work of the wall displays were ruined by the arrival in store of a young man who had taken a space to the right of the entrance selling Bollywood music and dvds. His second hand counter for his merchandise looked tacky and he played his niche interest music loudly. I assumed he would probably have driven away a sizeable chunk of the potential market that the clothes business had.
[Updated 26 March 2009]