TheIndustry.fashion & TheIndustry.beauty Podcast

In this week's podcast, we speak to Sarah Coonan, the Buying Director of one of British retail's most loved department stores,  Liberty.

After studying fashion at university and a stint as a beauty buyer at Harrods, Sarah has made Liberty home for over a decade. Along with her team, she's responsible for the edit of each floor at the iconic retailer.

A self-confessed data geek, Sarah tells us how she uses consumer data matched with her creative flair to find unique brands to introduce to the customers at Liberty.

We also ask her the million dollar question: If she could stock any brand, what do would it would be?

In the latest episode of the IN DETAIL podcast, Co-founder of retail investment business True, Matt Truman tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion why he felt the need in 2012 to set up an investment business focused solely on the retail and consumer space.

True brings together some of the most exciting and disruptive tech startups and pairs them with some of the world’s best known retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Abercrombie & Fitch and John Lewis to drive innovation and success for retail. It also has a private equity arm which invests in those brands that are at the forefront of a change in consumer behaviour .

Despite the pandemic, True hasn’t stopped seeking out opportunities, with recent investments including the digital-first contemporary women’s brand Hush and sexual wellness brand Maude.

As well as discussing his career journey, Matt tells us what it takes to get a great investor on board and what type of businesses he thinks will shape the future of the sector.

IN DETAIL: the new Podcast from TheIndustry.fashion in which we get under the hood of the industry and examine the business & consumer trends that are driving change and take a  look at some of the brands and people that are shaping the future of fashion.

In this series we will Interview industry watchers, analysts, experts and writers who are all leaders in their field.

Alexia calls herself an ‘accidental entrepreneur’.  Judging by the success of Cult Beauty today, there was nothing accidental about her flair for business. 

Alexia started her career as a fashion journalist and worked at The Telegraph under Hilary Alexander. She then found her way into PR where she learned how to build brands. 

She launched Cult Beauty back in 2008 with the aim to bring indie or cult brands to a wider audience by creating stories around the products. Fast forward to 2020 and the website stocks a carefully curated edit of over 200 brands including global giants and exclusive lesser-known brands. 

In this episode Alexia speaks to Lauretta Roberts, TheIndustry.fashion’s Editor in chief about how beauty is no longer the little sister of fashion, but how its success over the last few years has allowed it to step out and become its own major category.

She also tells us how during the pandemic, problems with the global supply chain have given her some key learnings to take forward to better her business for the future. 

In the latest episode of 'The Beauty Edit' podcast, Antony Hawman, Co-founder of TheIndustry.fashion speaks to Anna Teal, CEO of Aromatherapy Associates, The Refinery and Global Business Development Director at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Aromatherapy Associates is the world-leading, luxury wellbeing brand, specialising in therapeutic essential oils that naturally help promote better sleep, reduce stress and lift energy.

We talk about the pandemic and its impact on Aromatherapy associates and how Anna had to come up with innovative ways to support her spa business and therapists that had been temporarily shut down overnight due to lockdown.

She also gives her view on sustainability, 'clean beauty' and the invaluable work she does with The British Beauty Council.

'In 6 Questions' is the Minicast from TheIndustry.fashion, where we gain insight into the minds of some of fashion's most inspirational leaders, entrepreneurs and influencers. This little bit of Monday motivation is designed to get your week off to an inspired start. 

Mandy Watkins started women’s fashion and lifestyle brand Hush back in 2003 from her home, fulfilling orders from her kitchen table.  

She set out with an ambition to get 15 orders a day and in the summer of this year, she hit £1m of sales in one day alone.  

This hugely successful brand is now supercharged for growth due to the recent backing of investment house True.  

In this episode, Mandy tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion how the brand evolved from selling Ugg Boots and candles to now being a fully fledged women’s ready to wear and lifestyle business selling via its website, John Lewis and its very successful printed catalogue.  

'In 6 Questions' is the Minicast from TheIndustry.fashion, where we gain insight into the minds of some of fashion's most inspirational leaders, entrepreneurs and influencers. This little bit of Monday motivation is designed to get your week off to an inspired start. 

Rebecca Morter is the founder & CEO of Lone Design Club, a new concept that promotes an ever changing roster of sustainable fashion brands via its online and popup shops.  The ethos is clear – to allow consumers to shop consciously, knowing the story behind every purchase. 

During the pandemic and lockdowns that came with it, Lone Design Club innovated to create shoppable windows to allow people to shop even when the store was closed. 

 Rebecca is a natural entrepreneur and has a “just do it” attitude to business.

 In this episode, Rebecca tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion how she adapted her business during Covid and the effect the pandemic has had on consumers views on sustainability. 

IN DETAIL: the new Podcast from TheIndustry.fashion in which we get under the hood of the industry and examine the business & consumer trends that are driving change and take a  look at some of the brands and people that are shaping the future of fashion.

In this series we will Interview industry watchers, analysts, experts and writers who are all leaders in their field.

Today’s guest is the preeminent retail analyst, Richard Hyman.  Richard has been watching, analysing and commenting on retail for over 40 years and remains a dedicated student of the industry. Richard began his career at the Financial Times, before moving to Mintel and eventually setting up his own business - VERDICT, which he went on to sell to the company now known as Global Data.

After a spell at Deloitte, he became an independent analyst and today also works as a partner at Thought Provoking Consulting, which is a specialist retail consultancy providing retailers with the necessary tools, processes and expertise to improve their performance and realise their strategic vision.

Lauretta Roberts, TheIndustry.fashion’s Editor in chief asks him about leading retail brands ASOS, Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Frasers Group, Primark, Debenhams and Selfridges. 

Onloan is a new generation fashion rental subscription service started by two friends with a shared interest in sustainable fashion.  

The pair had very different careers before joining forces to launch their business. Tamsin started out in management consulting and always had a passion for sustainability while Natalie is a creative with experience in fashion retail, trend forecasting and blogging. A well-read piece on her blog, took her to a four-year position with Mario Testino, where she created his trend reports.   

 A “rental revolution” is sweeping through the UK right now with a number of start-ups springing up to capitalise on the opportunity. Ond one of the main USPs of Onloan is that it works directly with brand given them a rental opportunity alongside their sales channels.  Kitri, Alexa Chung and Mother of Pearl are already part of the Onloan family.  

 While many rental services seem to concentrate on occasion wear, Onloan focuses on “elevated daywear” which is perfect for the working from home woman.