Head of Buying and Retail with premium and high street brands across omnichannel, bricks and mortar retail and wholesale. Creative and energetic, highly strategic and resourceful with a positive management style and keen eye for product development. A proven track record of building successful trend led profitable ranges from scratch, providing stable foundations for future growth. Creating authentic, brand integrated and customer focused product ranges with a strong emphasis on supplier base, margin, design, sustainability, quality and style.
• Delivered a 42% turnover increase in 2022/23 vs 2021/22 • Driving creative and commercial vision within the retail strategy and business plan • Online selling across multiple platforms, eBay, depop, Vinted and a premium e-Commerce own brand platform. 14 bricks and mortar high street multi site stores 12,000 sq ft distribution centre, lease • Trained a team of fifty retail staff across an omnichannel business in building productive trust relationships with customers, over a period of 3 years, resulting in repeat customers and 42% turnover increase for 2022/23. • Implemented a social media strategy which led to a 20% uplift in sales and
• Designing and developing a successful commercial womenswear and accessory ranges from conception through to delivery size 14-32 for an eCommerce market, eight catalogues per year and online • Radically overhauling the supplier base and brand image across all categories to increase sustainability, margin, quality, maximising best sellers, continuity lines • Developed strategies to maintain required stock levels at minimum cost • Negotiated contracts with global suppliers to establish quality, cost and delivery requirements. Buying trips to Greece, Italy, Morocco, France, China. • Growing the business by 20% year on year • Project managing a new stock system across the company - increasing productivity and integrating critical path, WSSI, swot, lessons learnt, full weekly analysis, managing a team of 10 people • Working closely with the CEO, finance and marketing team to implement best practice across the business
• Offering strategic design, buying and merchandising services to global brands, both retail and eCommerce led • Working closely with senior management and business owners to build and drive successful brand building, sales strategies, identifying key business opportunities to seek net profit results • Highly product focused, I worked to implement commercial ranges that are aligned to the brand aesthetic and customers, with a key focus on improving brand profitability & supply chain timelines by working directly with Far East suppliers in China and Korea
• Brand ownership for Warehouse Accessories, overseeing the design team - Soft and hard accessories, online, 60 bricks and mortar shops, 250 concessions in department stores • Worked cross-functionally with e-commerce and marketing teams to deliver on targets. Fashions shows, shoots, online promotions and PR • Grew turnover from £5 million to £14 million over four years • Global sourcing, buying trips four times per year visiting all suppliers from China to Brazil, conducted product quality analysis, ensuring products aligned with pricing value and company standards and auditing • Collaboratively building relationships both with internal stakeholders, brand partners and suppliers
• Working across various fashion product areas - Clothing, hard and soft accessories, gifting • Followed product life cycle from design with suppliers to in store, tracking sales and best seller repeats • Determined and evaluated new supply options for existing and emerging purchasing needs to cut costs • Global buying and sourcing trips to Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan