High-achieving retail leader with 17+ years in client facing and leadership roles in the luxury goods sector, including 10+ years spearheading my own business; I’ve honed my visionary thinking and strategic approach into an efficient power-house method for getting any concept off the ground. As a solo-preneur I drove new and innovative ways to evolve the customer experience, including transforming my multi-award-winning business from traditional brick & mortar boutique to exclusive by-appointment access; and successfully implementing fee-based in-person and online fitting & shopping services that accounted for 21% of revenue, and increased average sale value by 14%. Obsessed with retail excellence and inspired by authentic personalised service, for my next move, I’d love to collaborate with a brick & mortar fashion and lifestyle business to drive their strategic vision, refine their retail proposition, and deliver extraordinary customer experiences.
Pausing active marketing for my own business to bring the next compelling chapter of my career to life. ▶ Progressed through Badass Careers’ signature leadership development programme empowering high-achieving women with the clarity, confidence, and skills to craft a professional brand proposition. ▶ Embarked on a 5-month ‘Quantum-Leap Tour’ of Australia; immersing myself in a new living experience, while actively building local & international relationships and progressing through the Career Glow-up programme. Plus exploring new neighbourhoods, living-locally and learning about Australian history & culture; and managing budgets, property and accommodation needs across two continents and opposing time-zones. ▶ Took on roles with John Lewis & Partners across selling and operations, and with Sweaty Betty as a concession manager, giving me the opportunity to observe and engage in the working practices of large, modern organisations. ▶ Participated in training with the Association of Business Mentor’s and enrolled as a mentor for the Help to Grow: Management programme; sharing my front-line experience and expert advice on a voluntary basis to support entrepreneurs across the UK in defining strategies and achieving their business growth and development goals.
2023: Pivoted from full-time entrepreneur to focus on landing a permanent role, while fulfilling my personal multi-passionate projects on a part-time basis: empowering cool women with brilliant ambition to be, do, and have exactly what they want. In business, in life, AND in lingerie. ▶ Business Strategy Consulting - Bespoke business strategy consulting for small format brick & mortar fashion & lifestyle boutiques. Challenging solo-preneurs to clarify business objectives, and translating strategies into a clear roadmap of activities to deliver on outcomes. ▶ Lingerie Fitting & Styling – Delivering signature fitting & styling, and personal shopping services to clients around the globe, including: hosting virtual consultation and pre-fitting appointments, sourcing individual lingerie collections to match the client brief, and communicating consistently with clients & prospects via email, website and social media. *** 2019-2021: Managed multiple critical paths, and proactively approached complex decisions, to stay on course in delivering a seamless customer experience in a luxury retail setting while staying true to vision & values, and underpinning business strength. ▶ Drove a comprehensive end-to-end transformation; repositioning to a self-branded personal shopping & styling business model to enable a more flexible service offering and expanded partnership opportunities, including secondment of key skills to collaborative brands Simone Perele (France) and Adina Reay (UK). Increased average sale value by 14%. ▶ Defined and implemented strategic initiatives to improve customer engagement on a digital-first basis, drive retail footfall, and successfully sell-thru special edition collections and sell-out events. Influenced 42% over-target sales revenues during a week-long branded partnership pop-up in March 2020. ▶ Conceptualised innovative new ways to evolve online & in-store customer experience, including implementation of niche fee-based fitting & shopping services accounting for 21% of sales value. ▶ Executed a cohesive multi-channel promotion strategy to drive targeted traffic, and attract and nurture leads, via direct email marketing, website & social media campaigns. Increasing bookings for by-appointment services by 60%. ▶ Developed and maintained local and international relationships with clients and prospects via personalised correspondence, digital marketing (email, website, social media) and in-person events. Grew database by 19% in 1 year and increased email open rate to 28%.
Constructively challenging solo-preneurs and small format brick & mortar business owners to clarify objectives, and translating strategies into a clear roadmap of activities to deliver on outcomes. Including implementing financial practices that ensured businesses comfortably sustained operational costs and provided consistent personal income throughout multiple pandemic lock-downs; and initiated online meet-ups providing peer-to-peer support and skill sharing that saw social media engagement grow; online coaching and courses launched; and wait-lists for post-lockdown styling appointments full to capacity.
> Brought to life from concept, and maintained day-to-day operations at my stand-alone brick & mortar store; including defining a seamless customer experience across all touch-points online and in-store, and developing processes for observing performance objectives & results to enable better decision-making and investment of resources. > Forecast sales targets and developed strategic initiatives (including collaborations, in-store activations, and marketing campaigns) to achieve growth objectives; consistently fulfilling financial goals. Increasing turnover by an average 13% year-on-year. > Led and managed a team of 3; initiated staff development & reward programmes to drive performance, inspire continuous growth, consistent customer engagement, and delivery of retail operating standards inline with business objectives. > Sourced, edited and merchandised collections to match customer requirements and influence demand, and managed stock flow within budget across seasons. Successfully selling-through collections at an average 85%.