1 | To Resilience...and Beyond!
So, why am I here and why am I talking to you about the retail industry? Well, first - a little background. After graduating from Warwick University with a degree in International business back in 2000 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. After numerous, uninteresting interviews with consulting firms, and from previous experience on the shop floor, I knew I wasn’t cut out for a career in retail management. I instead found my home in Merchandising. Numerically and creatively-led, in working with products and creating long term strategies I was afforded the opportunities to work in the states, handling 400 million dollar budgets for Talbots; from 2008 I worked on the UK high street with the Austin Reed Group and Coast; and in 2015 landed my dream job of running stationary at Paperchase (because who doesn’t love stationery?) However, after 17 years, a decade of which I’d been a full-time mother, juggling the stresses of supporting a struggling industry with the demands of family life, I made the difficult but exciting decision to step back, let go and start my own business. It was at this point that I began researching why the retail industry was indeed struggling. From identifying the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on consumers to studying changes in technology I came to understand that my expertise and experience in merchandising uniquely positioned me to assist clients in an ever-changing world. And that’s why I’m here - to share my insights with you! Whether you’re operating out of an office, on Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram or at a market stall you are an important and growing part of the retail industry and I want to help you to not only make money, to trade profitably, control stock and to price correctly - but to plan and strategise for the future and become a resilient retail business!