A Markham employee was sent down to fetch the suit and any alterations were sized and made for the customer, says Nkosi, once the suit was delivered to Markham.
He remembers the store having wooden floors and wood-panelled walls, with wooden stands holding items like shoes. Portions of those wooden floors can still be seen. The ceilings were mirrored for the full appreciation of the suit. In those days, customers consisted mainly of bank employees, the most important of whom got VIP customer cards.
Nkosi, who used to work at John Orr's across the road, says of his job: "I like to serve, to deal with people – it makes me feel younger and younger. My goal is to give good customer service." And, of course, he likes fashion.
Manager Thandi Seffore says that that personal service is still the Markham trademark. When a customer walks in he is made to feel special. She says that Markham has several competitive advantages: it offers its 75 percent youth market exactly what they want – skinny jeans, shirts and jackets. This doesn't mean it doesn't cater for its older clientele, though, and it still carries the wider fit in these items.
