Growing up in Roath Park, Cardiff, John Richards never envisaged a career in the cut-throat corporate 'City' - London, the world-renowned hub of trading, retail and financial marketing. Spending his childhood obsessed with trainspotting, music and girls, John had no aspirations to become a player in the arena of stocks and retail.

But through a combination of luck, hard work and happy 'accidents' he found himself in the esoteric world of stockbroking. The path of John's career moved into retail analysis, and his experience provides a highly engaging and insightful account of the machinations and vicissitudes faced by some of today's most eminent retailers as they struggled to establish themselves in the ever-evolving twentieth century.