Sydney's famous men's wear store is trading on tradition in a bid to boost customer flow

John Edward Gowing says he learnt an interesting lesson in retailing from his grandfather. In the 1930s, when Preston Lanchester Gowing noticed that only a few customers were in his store, he ordered all staff to converge on the ground floor so that when passers-by looked through the windows, it seemed that the store was crowded with shoppers.