Up till the mid 1980s. Deacons was the average family's clothing store...them and Yuken (a.k.a.,Y-Fashions).
Then came the collapse of the textiles industry in Kenya...thanks to Mitumba imported mainly by Gideon Moi...
Yuken folded but Deacons re-positioned themselves to the upper class...got the Woolworths franchise and they survived.
Lesson: when times are hard,re-position your business to the upper class in society...they are the last to feel the pinch.
Have you ever heard DT Dobie complain about their Mercedes franchise? No; but they are always crying about unfair competition on the Nissan front.
Nothing is real unless it can be named; nothing has value unless it can be sold; money is worthless unless you spend it.