This week are joined by Levanah Gates, The Buyers Coach. Levanah started working in retail buying at a similar time to us, she’s worked at a large number of high street retailers and has seen it all! She joins us to tell us her story, from starting out in the industry, almost working in trend forecasting, to making the transition from buying manager to life coach.  

The 3 top points from today's episode are

1. Sometimes working in Buying can be really overwhelming. It’s an incredible job that can give you the highest highs, but also some of the lowest lows. Take a step back, breathe and find a way to make it work for you or use one of the many skill sets you have amassed during your career and make a move that feels more fulfilling. 
2. Life coaching will teach you a lot about yourself. It will help to transform your thinking and give you that clarity you need to move you forward to achieve your goals or even help you set them. 
3. Having the insight from someone that knows the industry from the inside, but can also give you an outsider's perspective is golden. They understand all the quirks that come with the territory and what will or won’t work in that environment, but they’re far enough removed to give you a fresh perspective.

Find Levannah at https://levanahgatescoaching.com/

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Today’s episode has been on a quite an intense subject, but one that we’ve had quite a few requests for us to discuss - so we hope we did it justice! 
Stress can be both good and bad, the adrenaline can motivate, but too much can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout. It’s about finding that balance between driving and drowning, feeling strong enough to take on more but not too much that you struggle to keep your head above water, and about finding that balance between working and living your best life. There is always so much more than can be talked about when it comes to stress and burnout and sharing new coping mechanisms. We have kept the episode fairly light hearted, but there is a serious element to this and if you are struggling it’s important to seek help and find a way to overcome your issues - please don’t suffer in silence, you’re not the only one

1. Work/Life balance IS important - like everything in life, you need a balance. Making sure you have time to relax, just be you, or time to spend doing sports or crafts, or which ever activities you enjoy
2. If you feel overwhelmed, take a step back, or step away from the situation, get some space to clear your head. Go to the tea point to let off steam (excuse the pun) or pop out for some fresh air
3. Seek out support, build a network of trust, find the ones you can offload to, but also give you another perspective and reign in your stressful thoughts

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In Episode 7 we chat with one of our OGs, a very special trauma friend! We all started Buying as BAAs, and wow it was a wild time. We recount some of the ridiculous and hilarious memories of the Buying office - working on the hats, gloves and scarves team when you’re allergic to wool, the crazy fads we tried out, being very young and impressionable, wanting to be cool and raising our profile - plus a very sad story of a promotion that was taken away. Calli tells us why working in Buying has set the scene for the rest of her career with the many transferable skills she learnt during her time in Buying, and we discuss what it’s like working in a 90% female based office, the good the bad and how we think it should be! 

Some of the key takeaways from this episode are:

1. There’s nothing quite like a trauma friend - it bonds you for life!! Whether that is going through crazy fads and fashions together, trying out new trends, or competing and challenging each other to be better and go further in your career. Often the Buying offices are 90% female, and a whole lot of emotions, but this can be channelled to drive sales harder, not act harder. Be intuitive, supportive, and encourage development of your co-workers - rather than throwing socks!
2. So many of the skills that you develop working in Buying will set you up for life. As Calli has shared, once you’ve worked in the intense environment of a Buying office, nothing will phase you anymore! You’ve got this!! 
3. It’s not really as glamorous as it looks - it’s not all glitz and glam, that’s all smoke and mirrors, it’s actually more spreadsheets, numbers and data and that shiny gold necklace plating will wear off! We imagined it being all travelling the globe, fancy food & drinks, buying whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, living that high life…and there is a little of that. But really it’s moving heavy boxes of product, wearing high vis jackets at warehouse visits and not sleeping for days as you travel to as many factories in as little time as possible! It's exhausting, but it's fun. It's just definitely not glamourous!

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This weeks episode aims to give you that confidence boost you need to leave your job and reassurance if you've just made the leap to a new company. It can be quite a daunting prospect moving on, especially if it's your first job or if you're enjoying where you work but cant see the next step internally. Sometimes you just have to move on. Often you'll find you'll go from feeling super confident in your role, to feeling really out of your depth in a new place. Many companies are same same but different; most of the processes will be similar but be slightly different order, or ways of documenting, or words to describe the same things! It can be exciting and scary, an opportunity to prove to yourself that you know more than you think you know, or even a change to re-invent yourself! So have a listen and hopefully you'll find our discussion supportive and empowering.

Here are our top 3 points from today's episode to give you confidence that sometimes change is the best thing to move forwards…

1. Knowing when to move on, and understanding that when you stop learning it’s time to leave. You can always leave and come back if the opportunity isnt there when you need it, and come back bigger and better…
2. Be brave and try something new - it might be a stepping stone to something greater. You never know where your next role might take you, take every opportunity that comes your way that feels right. Trust your gut, and take a leap of faith!
3. Be open to learnng and understanding how other businesses work, you’ll gain a better understanding of the whole industry, can bring about change in a positive way, and not irritate people by thinking you already know the best way to do something, when you hardly know how the new systems work! Think about bigger picture, not what people will think of you *if* you ask a silly question. 

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Today we are talking to PR expert Laura Quick founder at LQPR. Lynsey has worked with Laura many times and know her to be the most enthusiastic, inspiring confident PR guru. Laura joins us to talk about the wonderful world of PR. We discuss the definition of PR, and Laura takes us through her career history including how she got started and life as a freelancer. This episode takes a trip down memory lane including those much loved press shows and the importance of building relationships with the commercial team- we are in this together with the same goal of driving profit! But remember, it's PR not ER!

1. PR is about how people feel and see a brand, creating and promoting a positive connotation with that brand. 
2. It is so important to be working COLLABORATIVELY with the buying teams, set the trends and go on the journey together
3. PR is not just for selling the individual product but the brand itself, not all ‘commercial products’ are what grabs the attention of the press. Remember this when planning your range, keep thinking what is my press piece

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This episode is all about the reality check when talking about retail! We talk about how much retail has changed over the past decade or so and the impact of the pandemic - it was HUGE! It's not something we really want to remind us all about, but it's important not to forget about it and to recognise the importance it had, it was a massive moment in our careers, completely unpressedented times!

Retail is tough right now, it can feel like a rollercoaster, and the advancements of tech can be a help and a hindrance, but there has also never been a better time to get involved, either with an established retailer or to start and grow your own retail business. It’s a fascinating, if often challenging, and ever changing landscape.  It's the perfect time to embrace change, keep evolving to keep ahead of the market and future-proof businesses.

Here’s our top 3 takeaways from this episode  - 

1. Challenges only make us stronger. It might feel awful at the time, but it really does enhance your skill set to work your way through difficult times. It’s how you embrace these and find solutions - although let's hope there’s not going to be another pandemic anytime soon!
2. It’s crucial for brands to turn their stores into destinations consumers want to spend time in; a whole store experiences with extra services that make it a place you want to go. 
3. There’s still a huge amount of change to come for retail, change is happening at a faster rate than ever with the ever developing technologies - it’s exciting and terrifying, but we need to embrace the positives and focus on how it can improve productivity and profitability!

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September is the season for trade shows, fashion weeks, and new stock in the stores, so this week we talk all about how trade shows have changed and evolved, new trends for AW24 we're loving from our shop walks, and the styles we've loved from the New York, London, Paris & Milan shows - it'll be SS25 before we know it and we cant wait to see which trends from these shows will filter through to the high street next Spring/Summer!

Here are the top 3 things from this weeks episode are:

1) Trade Shows are so much more than they used to be and you will get som much more out of attending that you ever have before as a Buyer or as a Brand. It is a more immersive experience. Make time to go, listen to a talk and absorb everything. It's not just about appointments with current customers/suppliers, or finding new brands and seeing new product - although we LOVE this part too!

2) Get out to the shops and spend some time walking around a variety of different product categories rather than feeling the pressure of an intense comp shop session on your department. Get a feel for the new season and new stock, and reflect on the influence these could have on the direction you take your products.

3) Don't be a slave to trends. Definitely push boundaries and explore new concepts, but stay commercial and think about your customer.

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In our second episode of season 3 we have our first merchandiser on the show. As we discussed in episode 1, merchandisers are our partners in crime at most traditional retailers. The Buying & Merchandising department is made up of teams that mirror each other at most levels and share the responsibility of the product category ranges - although let's face it, it’s always the Buyer that's really in the firing line! So in this episode we chat with Nat, one of our favourite (if not the favourite) merchandisers of all time, about what exactly is merchandising, how did she get into the industry (following a stint on tv!), highlights of her career to date, her thoughts on how buyers and merchandisers work best together, and of course some retail therapy! 

Here are Nat’s 3 key takeaways - 

1. You wouldn't expect a merchandiser to say this, but it's don't be a slave to the numbers. It's not all about what has happened and the history of the numbers, it's also working with your buyers and your designer i.e. looking at trends, at what's coming through and using them together. It’s all about collaborative working, taking a punt when the numbers say otherwise and going with your gut!
2. Don't feel like you're pigeonholed into one product type. It has been said that you can't move between different categories, but it’s clear to see from many of our guests that you can move to polar opposites for example Nat went from fashion accessories, to homeware, to sports nutrition - and even Emma in a previous episode from Laptops to Beauty! 
3. Resist analysis paralysis! This is where you can just go down a rabbit hole with numbers, which Nat absolutely loves to do, it’s great to find those interesting nuggets of information, but you do also need to bring yourself back a little and try and work out exactly what that story is that you want to tell. Be concise, use the 80 20 rule and just really focusing on what your top sellers are as well. Be conscious of your analysis techniques and don’t go too deep if you don't need to! 

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A Buyer is so central to a company, there are so many relationships you need to build for successful sales, and the customer is at the heart of everything - everyone's responsibility in a company is to focus on making it the best experience for a customer, whether that be price, stock levels, design, quality, placement, POS, service…

So here are the 3 takeaways from today's episode

1. We’ll have to start with ‘all roads lead to a buyer’ - so it’s important not to work in silo, you need the support of all the teams, share your ideas and aspirations, these are the people around you bring your vision to life!
2. We’re all working towards the same goal - despite different skill sets, different focus and different KPIs, the ultimate goal is still the same - to drive the company forwards
3. Customers are at the heart of the company - they have to be. If your customer isn’t the reason that you do the work that you do as a retailer, than you’re not heading in the right direction!

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So that brings us to the end of our episode, and the end of Season 2! We hope you’ve enjoyed listening to this season as much as we have enjoyed recording it, we’ve tried to keep our episodes to max 30 mins, but with so much to talk about it can be hard to keep to that time frame, we just get carried away, run off on tangents, and the topics are just so big it can be hard to limit ourselves - we’re just bursting with chat! We should have ourselves a strict CP for our recordings in true retail buying fashion! Hahaha. But hopefully you like our assortment of topics, and extra bonus content!

We’d love to hear from you, particularly topics you’d like to hear about, we’ve had a few DMs with some ideas shared which we are already thinking about for our Season 3, so feel free to drop us more! 

We’re so excited about what the September season is going to bring, and can't wait to share what we have been working on with you all - and as buyers we all know, feedback is a gift, so please please do let us know what you think! 

And thats us signing off for summer - follow us on Insta for content that hopefully helps to fill your cup when those sunny sales suffer (or stormy, its the UK, who knows what sort of weather we’ll be having through these school holidays..!!), lets support each other though awful augusts and not battle to beat each other down with promo after promo and racing our prices to the bottom… Looking forward to the start of september, trade shows, catwalks, new season wardrobes and into that golden quarter…

*Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture.

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