Sorry late post! :)

...

Kendal was in a meeting at Fusion with Erica, Madison and Randi going through the paperwork for the new 'Midnight Shadow' range before sending it to the marketing company. She stopped.

"Whoa, hold up." said Kendal, "There an error in the pricing."

The list had an extra zero added to every price.

"Oh, don't you have the corrected copy." said Erica, smiling smartly. "Have mine, sweetheart."

Kendal took her mother's copy; the prices were exactly the same. She looked up at Erica suspiciously.

"Mom did you change the pricing?"

"Well it was clearly an error; fifteen dollar for perfume."

"That wasn't an error? You think one hundred and fifty dollars is a better price?" asked Kendal amazed.

"Clearly you have underestimated your market potential."

"Mother, we as a nation are broke. The whole globe is in recession. This company is struggling. Our best-selling line at the moment is Mother and Baby because it fills a niche… its practical and good value. And it comes to something when a makeup company's best-selling item is a smelly cuddly toy, which at the moment it is! From now on Fusion needs to focus on giving people value for money or we need to find a new niche to fill, preferably we do both; which is why we created this line."

"You're wrong." retorted Erica defensively, "I know that the world has money problems but it's at times like this we need luxuries."

"A hundred and fifty dollars' worth of luxury? Mom, 'Midnight Shadow' is intended as an affordable range tapping into the Goth / vampire loving teen market. We are looking to sell to 13 to 21 year olds. They don't have a hundred and fifty bucks."

"Then you change the market focus." said Erica, "You are underselling yourself! It's like your Country Cosmetics range, you haven't gone with my suggested name change and the new design templates are so bland they are boring."

"It is an executive decision, mom. We want to retain existing customers and we believe using a friendly, safe, traditional appearance to the product will attract the older, more loyal customer."

Erica shook her head.

"But people don't buy make up to feel safe. They do it to feel beautiful and good about themselves. You started this company with a vision Kendal what happened to it."

"Sometimes you have to be practical. We are losing out to the bigger brands so we reinvent ourselves as something new."

"No." said Erica in frustrated tone. "You have lost your edge. If there is one thing I've learnt in business it is that you don't sell your product, you sell your vision. If the only vision you have is to keep your head above water you will fail, because that isn't going to inspire anyone."

"You wrong mom." said Kendal sharply banging her fist on the table.

"I'm right." said Erica getting to her feet to glare at her daughter. "I'm trying to help you Kendal!" She picked up the documents for the Country Collection line. "You said this rebrand was an executive decision! Well aren't I an executive in this company and I do not agree."

"Fine." snapped Kendal throwing her hands up in dismay. "If you are so wise; Take it! Take that line and do whatever the hell you want with it. You will lose this company money but hey you're Erica Kane you have never been wrong about anything in your entire life!"

Kendal stormed out of the meeting, leaving Randi and Madison sitting there in awkward silence.

Erica looked at the folder still in her hand. She was only trying to help. Well she would show her stubborn daughter how wrong she was. The Country Collection was going to get an Erica Kane makeover, starting with a name change!

…