TARAK Ramzan always knew what he wanted - one of those sleek Mercedes sports cars he used to see in Glasgow occasionally as a 15-year-old

living in a Simshill semi-detached. The classic 300 SL, perhaps. ''I

told myself that when I've got

one of those I'll know I've made it,'' he recalls, and he is quite in earnest.

Ramzan did ''make it'' and, for the record, his vehicle of choice these days is a Mercedes 320.

The Quiz clothing chief's ascent is a true rags-to-riches story. Handed ''the keys to the shop'' at the tender age of 18, he transformed a modest factory which used to make duffle coats into a nationwide retail chain, elevating himself into the ranks of Scotland's richest Asian entrepreneurs.

Ramzan may not be as well-known as Akmal and Afzal Khushi, the Glaswegian tycoons behind the Trespass clothing brand, but he has ambitious plans. His women's fashion empire is set to expand south of Birmingham by opening 20 stores in the next 18 months. Quiz already has 40 stores, including 16 in Scotland, stretching from Inverness in the north to Basingstoke in Hampshire.

The chain's milieu is a fast-moving one - the fashion-conscious 15-to-35 womenswear market - and its message unequivocal. The Quiz website features a white stiletto shoe perched atop a male ''six-pack'', above the legend ''girls with an attitude''.

One might expect the founder of such an enterprise to be as flamboyant as his product range, but Ramzan is an understated personality. He has known little else but the firm which made his fortune, spending a single year at Strathclyde University, studying pharmacy, before receiving ''the call''.

His father, who emigrated to Scotland from Pakistan ''with (pounds) 5 in his pocket'', suddenly announced that he intended to retire to his country of birth - and two weeks later he had gone.

''I'd had a hell of a good year at university without doing much work,'' Tarak now recalls. ''But I always knew I was going to join the business at some stage. I come from a business-oriented family.''

Ramzan built the manufacturing business to employ about 200 staff at its peak, selling clothes to high street staples including the Co-op, Morrisons and Burton.

However, he was shrewd enough to recognise that his fast-retrenching sector faced a bleak future. ''My family and I made a very good living throughout the 1980s, but by the end of the decade I could see the writing on the wall. It was getting tougher to deal with the big retailers. Most had moved their buying offices down south.

''I felt at the time I'd got into a rut and to be honest I was 'standing still' for a few years.''

This period of drift ended in

1994 when Ramzan opened his

first Quiz store in Glasgow, selling young women's fashions manufactured both at his own factory

at Hydepark Street and sourced from other suppliers. As the retail chain grew, the manufacturing operation diminished, so that

today there are 10 times as many people working in Quiz shops (more than 300) as work in the factory (30).

''We have doubled the size of the business in the last three years but have not taken on big borrowing to do so,'' says Ramzan. ''Growth has been generated from profits and cash-flow, and apart from a normal overdraft facility, it's all self-funded.''

He added: ''Fashion is a 24-hour business. We have a business model designed to work off short lead times, so we can react to the market. We go to the trade shows in Paris, Milan and New York, and we watch what celebrities are wearing and relevant media such as MTV.''

One senses that the business is now at a crossroads. Quiz has the north and midlands of Britain more or less covered, and Edinburgh is the only place north of the border where Ramzan would contemplate opening more stores. He admits, however, that finding prime, affordable and profitable sites in his preferred shopping centre locations will not be easy further south.

''The costs of retail have been rising tremendously,'' he points out. ''Landlords have been pushing up rent and rates to stupid levels, in some cases by 50% to 60% in this year alone.''

The observation is borne out by the numbers. In the year to November 30, 2003, holding company Tarak Clothing posted a pre-tax profit of (pounds) 211,000, sharply down on the previous year's (pounds) 706,000. Sales from continuing operations rose from (pounds) 15.9m to (pounds) 16.8m.

''We have to be able to deliver the right formula and I think we are just about there. We intend to expand fairly aggressively, but it will depend on what deals are available in the market.''

Ramzan's brother and cousins also work in the business, but the role of senior non-executive director is effectively played by TEC, the world's biggest development forum for chief executives.

TEC in Scotland celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and membership has almost doubled in the last 18 months. Other members include such luminaries as Alan Steel of Alan Steel Asset Management, and Simon Northrop, managing director of McKinnon & Clarke, an international energy cost analysis consultancy.

TEC's ethos is not simply to help members outperform competitors, but also to enable them to strike the right balance between life and work.

Ramzan says: ''I've never had any formal business training but I've always been interested in learning. I always used to wonder whether I was doing things the right way.

''Being a TEC member is like having another 12 non-executives on the board, people you can bounce ideas off. It enables you to test your instincts as an entrepreneur.''

For Ramzan, who was cast into a senior managerial position at a frighteningly young age, TEC also provides much-needed reassurance, even now. ''Being at the top of a company can at times be a lonely, stressful and isolated position. Having people who can back up your thinking processes is good. It's a marvellous forum for continuous learning.''

Meanwhile, the Ramzan dynasty is primed for renewal. Tarak's son, Sheraz, joined the firm last year, but in rather more propitious circumstances than his father. He came armed with an MBA from Strathclyde University.

Tarak says: ''Actually, I was not all that keen on putting him into the firm. But he did want to come in and one of my close friends said I should not push him out. So I gave him his own department (an embryonic shoes and accessories division) and he is showing a lot of promise.''

DRIVING AMBITION

Born: Glasgow, 1953.

Where do you live: Glasgow.

What was your childhood ambition:

To go into business.

Your greatest business achievement: Is yet to come.

Hobbies: Badminton, squash, weightlifting, music.

Favourite books: Shogun by James Clavell, A Stone for Danny Fisher by Harold Robbins.

What do you drive: Mercedes

320.