TheIndustry.fashion & TheIndustry.beauty Podcast

During 2020, the British high street lost a number of its best-known brands as the COVID-19 pandemic hit fashion hard. One brand to hit the buffers early on in the pandemic was Warehouse, which was placed into administration during the first lockdown. 

Three senior executives from Warehouse Paula Stewart, Karen Peacock and Kirstie Di Stazio, however, are back with a new womenswear proposition, Albaray, which launched this week on its own platform and next week with retail giants John Lewis and Next. They join us on the latest episode of the ‘In Conversation’ podcast in partnership with Klarna.

Paula, Karen and Kirstie – who are CEO, Chief Creative Officer and Chief Commercial Officer respectively – tell Lauretta Roberts Editor in chief of the TheIndustry.fashion, how they dusted themselves off after Warehouse’s demise, formulated their vision, created their collection, secured their partners and got a cohesive collection to market in just six months In those six months the UK locked-down twice, they were obliged to work at a distance, doing everything from working out how to source barcodes to securing boats. What’s more Paula contracted COVID and, subsequently, long COVID. 

Theirs is a story, which encapsulates everything we hoped we’d see as we lost so many stores and businesses over the past 12 months, which is to say that the devastation wreaked by COVID would lead to opportunities for new, more sustainable brands to emerge, paving the way for an exciting new future for fashion.

In this episode of Stores: The Next Generation podcast in partnership with Critizr, Lauretta Roberts, Editor in Chief of TheIndustry.fashion speaks to Lavinia Moxley, Global Advisor for Talent and Education at global health & beauty giant Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Lavinia has been instrumental in the group’s transformation of its offer and positioning in the beauty market, in particular, the iconic and historic No 7 beauty brand and how it has responded to the global pandemic – from a fast roll-out of digital technology and online tutorials to the transformation of staff training in record time. Lavinia also explains how the brand is looking forward to the re-opening of retail and how the learnings of the past year will inform the way it interacts with consumers.

Golf  - it’s fair to say, it’s probably not known for being the most fashionable of sports in more ways than one. The culture around the clubhouses and the questionable clothing – such as shiny polo shirts and bright, white belts  – has been somewhat off-putting for many. Which is a shame as it’s a healthy pastime with courses often sitting in wonderful settings that can be enjoyed by men and women, young and old. 

In this episode TheIndustry.fashion goes In Conversation with two men with a vision and determination to reposition golf, and in particular, golfing attire, with a new collection of clothing and accessories that work on and off the golf course. 

Sounder is a partnership between Cathal McAteer, a name that will be familiar to many since he is also the founder of successful British clothing label Folk, and James Day, the founder of indoor golfing venues Urban Golf.

The pair met when McAteer, a lifelong golfer, visited golf pro Day for some custom-made clubs and they bonded over a shared appreciation for craftsmanship and a shared desire to shake up this somewhat stuffy sport and broaden its appeal. 

Cathal and James tell Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion, about how they came together to form Sounder, how they launched a brand during lockdown while balancing their other businesses, and what their ambitions are for the future.

David Dalziel is co-founder and creative director of Dalziel & Pow, the pre-eminent brand innovation studio that provides retail design and strategic advice to some of the high street’s biggest names from River Island to Primark, Molton Brown and Next.

David is something of a rock star when it comes to retail design and is one of the most respected voices on the present and future state of retail and consumer shopping trends. Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion speaks to David on what stores will look like after lockdown and how retail strategies will play out longer-term.  David also shares with us his vision for a flexible, more dynamic future for our stores and high streets. 

Critizr has produced a spotlight report for the Fashion and Beauty market, called The New Retail Journey, that can be downloaded here and the findings of this report have driven the content of these podcasts.

In the latest episode of the In Detail podcast,  Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion speaks to AJ Coyne, Head of Marketing at Klarna UK.

The buy now, pay later revolution has shaken up not only the finance industry but the retail industry for good. And the trailblazer in this field is Klarna, the disruptive Swedish bank with a penchant for pink branding that has become the finance provider of choice for a millennial generation that has turned its back on traditional lines of credit.

Klarna has been adopted by retailers across the UK and particularly enthusiastically by the fashion industry where giants such as ASOS, Ted Baker, Gym Shark and Ganni use the service to offer their customers the opportunity to try before they buy through a range of options such as buy now, pay later and paying for their purchases in interest-free instalments.

But Klarna is more than a bank and is fast repositioning itself as a shopping platform in its own right curating retailers’ offers on its ground-breaking app.

The man in charge of managing the brand image of this rule-breaking business in the UK is AJ Coyne. AJ’s background is in advertising, having worked for giants such as Ogilvy, McCann and Clemenger BBDO in the UK and Australia. He was also head of marketing at the UN’s animal welfare charity The Lion’s Share, but on his return to England was drawn to the opportunity Klarna presented.

It hasn’t all be plain sailing for Klarna with the buy now, pay later market under scrutiny and questions around encouraging young people to spend beyond their means, but in Klarna-style, far from hiding away from these debates it wants to lead them and that is what Coyne is doing. 

He talks to us about his background, how he sees Klarna’s future evolving, along with its customer base, which is older than media reports would have you believe. He also talks about the future of retail and how he’s managed to take on this challenging but rewarding role entirely remotely as a result of the pandemic.

In the latest episode of Stores: The Next Generation podcast in partnership with Critizr, we speak to Patrick van der Linden, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Digital Officer of leading French young fashion retailer Pimkie, which operates nearly 700 stores across 28 countries.

Patrick has been at the forefront of driving Pimkie’s “customer obsessed” strategy, which puts feedback from the customer as its centre. 

He explains how the company has had to balance the global lockdowns, which has often meant vastly different restrictions being in place across its markets at any one time and how it has been deepening connections with its customers.

FREE REPORT DOWNLOAD

Critizr has produced a spotlight report for the Fashion and Beauty market, called The New Retail Journey, that can be downloaded from TheIndustry.fashion’s home page and the findings of this report have driven the content of these podcasts.

Prior to the pandemic, London’s West End, which is to say the world-famous streets of Oxford, Bond and Regent and their interconnecting roads and alleyways, contributed the equivalent in GDP to UK economy of the entire country entire of Wales.

Much of that was down to its stores and the attraction they hold for shoppers from around the UK, and, importantly, around the world. Some of the planet’s most famous stores, such as Liberty, Selfridges and, of course, the Topshop flagship (and what will happen to that is a story of its own) are all housed in the area. But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought it to a standstill.

Footfall in central London has been the hardest hit by the pandemic and at times has been down by more than 80% year on year. Nonetheless, this is the West End of London. It is the beating heart of one of the world’s most vibrant  and resilient cities and a rebirth awaits.

In the latest episode of the In Detail podcast, Lauretta Roberts,  Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion is joined by a man who will play a pivotal role in the renaissance of the West End - Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive of the New West End Company, which represents the area’s business community, including its shops and restaurants.

Jace works tirelessly to promote the area, to lobby politicians, to collaborate with the council and to attract the best tenants to ensure the West End remains successful. With a number of big name retailers exiting the area, his next task is to ensure is populated with an exciting array of retail, experience and entertain to ensure it can regain its place in the world stage.

We talk VAT, business rates, Crossrail and just who or what might fill those empty spaces on Oxford Street.

Welcome to Stores: The Next Generation, a new six-part podcast series produced in partnership with Critizr, which provides retailers with a solution to engage, understand, and build loyalty with local customers. In this series we examine the future for physical retail in the post-pandemic world.

We will talk to major retailers and experts in store design and technology to discuss the role of the physical store and how it will change along with major shifts in consumer behaviour, which will result in us shopping more consciously, more carefully and more locally.

In this episode, Lauretta Roberts Editor in Chief of TheIndustry.fashion speaks to Claire Constantine, global retail director, and Sandra Byrne, Liverpool store manager at British-based, ethical beauty retailer Lush. 

Lush is a perfect example of a global brand that acts local. Its stores are located in neighbourhoods where the brand becomes embedded in the community. The company leverages the local know-how of its store managers, such as Sandra, to inform the individual strategies of each its stores and to advise the business on local engagement activities. As you will her having an expert on the ground such as Sandra has meant that Liverpool is now home to the world’s largest Lush store.

Critizr has produced a spotlight report for the Fashion and Beauty market, called The New Retail Journey, that can be downloaded from TheIndustry.fashion’s home page and the findings of this report have driven the content of these podcasts.

On this episode of the 'In Detail' podcast Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion takes a deep dive into the world of Marketing Science with Kevin McSpadden, founder and CEO of More2.

 Kevin’s early career ambition was to be a policeman but having given up on that idea he has since made a career from investigating exactly which factors drive growth at retailers. Many retailers tuning in may be surprised to learn that they are measuring the wrong things (beware the traditional KPI of efficiency for example) or, drawing incorrect conclusions from data, which can prevent them from spotting growth opportunities.

 Kevin works with retailers at board level to get them focused on the right measures and actions that will ensure their future success. Typically, he shares his expertise at exclusive C-level teach-ins throughout the year, but today we’re getting an insight into the “secret sauce of success” that Kevin and his team at More2 have developed over the past 18 years.

In this episode of the 'In Conversation' podcast we are joined by Jo Tutchener-Sharp, Founder of womenswear and kidswear brand Scamp & Dude.  After a successful career in beauty running one of the most respected beauty PR agencies in the UK, she had a life changing experience that took her down a very different route both personally and in her career which led her to launch a fashion brand with strong philanthropic foundations.

Scamp & Dude has seen an impressive 480% growth during the pandemic, some of which is down to the appetite in the market for loungewear. Womenswear is now 80% of the business and her collections are worn by celebrity fans such as Fearne Cotton, Liz Tyler and Billie Piper.

Jo’s won awards for ‘entrepreneur of the year’ from Hello magazine and The British Business Awards named her ‘Female business owner of the year’ and after you’ve listened to this podcast, we are sure you’ll agree she should be cast as the next Wonder Woman.