No rest for the wicked (or in this case, a busy buying team)……..

Posted on November 10, 2012 by BuyersEye

We had just over a week to recover from the exertions of Bangladesh, and then we were off again, this time further afield, to Hong Kong, and then on to either Indonesia or Sri Lanka. Under normal circumstances I would have tried to squeeze all this into one trip, but the thought of being away for almost a full three weeks without a break was too much, even for me. Leaving home on a Sunday evening, for a 12 hour direct flight to Hong Kong, I was again realising that I seem to be spending a great deal of time in airports and on aeroplanes, but I do actually enjoy this aspect of my role. I have two teenage children, a more than full time job that requires me to manage 8 very diverse departments, and a ninety minute commute each way to the office. Hence the reason that an opportunity to sit on my backside for 12 hours, starting with a glass of champagne, watching movies and being waited on hand and foot, whilst tucked up under a snuggly duvet, has immense appeal! The majority of us arrived, in two groups on different flights, on Monday evening, reaching the hotel just in time to unpack and grab some dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant. It always feels good to be back in HK – having visited roughly twice a year, every year for almost the last two decades, it feels like my second home, and I still love it!  I am always mesmerised by the skyline, and the people are generally really friendly and easy to work with. I have made many good friends here over the years, although my schedule here makes it impossible to catch up with anyone!

This time we were a team of seven covering menswear, boys wear, baby wear and girls wear, visiting a variety of factories and suppliers, both well-known existing sources, and one or two potential new ones. We were up and out early – some straight off to their first supplier appointments, and three of us sorting out visas for a trip to the Chinese mainland later in the week, before meeting a relatively new supplier who had travelled down from Shanghai. A tricky first meeting, as their introduction to the business has not run particularly smoothly. They do, however, offer us a unique product at a very competitive price, so I am convinced that our perseverance will be worthwhile.

After a quick lunch in the hotel lobby bar, and fighting our way through the torrential rain, we were off to our next appointment, with a rapidly growing supplier to our business – who not only make a wide variety of product types, but are also relatively vertical, ie. they weave/knit a large proportion of their own fabrics, as well as actually making the garments, which is fairly unusual in China. Jet lag setting in, as we meet the team and start going through product development, with a particularly humorous moment over a misunderstanding about a fabric description I had never come across before. Just to be sure, I Googled it, and was very shocked by the resulting answer, which had nothing to do with fabric and everything to do with something I could not possibly share in a meeting – my introduction to the “urban dictionary”, which, naively, I had never even heard of! Am I the only one?

Onward that evening to a very traditional dinner with another supplier, and a treat in the form of a demonstration by the chef, of Chinese noodle making, whilst we tucked into our first course. No sharks fin soup, no birds nest soup and no abalone this time, which is a relief, as, although all are considered to be a delicacy, the tastes are completely alien, and the process of producing some of them, does not sit well with my conscience. I’ll spare you the details! Dinner over and we’re off to one of the best bars in town to admire the view and sample the cocktails – and so begins the round of early morning starts, very long days and very late nights which seems to be the norm on trips here – it’s adrenalin, alcohol and caffeine that keep you going til the flight home!

Day 2 and we’re all up and out to various appointments around the city. My first stop was with an agent and factory who seemed very confused about our new terms of trading – instigated at their request, not ours, so I was finding it somewhat frustrating that no-one seemed to understand what was going on. An indication of the importance of very clear communication, both between buyer and supplier, but also internal company communication, which had clearly broken down in this case! Further difficult negotiation at another supplier later in the day – sometimes you have to really labour the point to get the message across – why does it feel like no-one is listening to what I am saying? We make progress, but the process is fairly long-winded and painful. I will always do my absolute best to understand the external factors affecting a supplier and their costs/lead times, such as rising fuel prices, labour costs, the impact of Chinese New Year, cotton and other raw material costs, and the fluctuations in currency etc, but in this case there was little evidence that the supplier in question was making the same effort to understand the stagnant nature of the UK market and the implications that has in terms of order quantities, retail prices and lead time. In fairness, on the plus side, they have been exceptionally good at getting us quick repeats, and the profit margin is generally good on their product, so although they were trying my patience a little, they are a key source to our business, and again, perseverance will be worthwhile.

Just time to hot-foot it back to the hotel, dragging our enormous sample bags, for a quick ten minute change and out again for dinner with another supplier. They had booked a private dining room at a beautiful Chinese restaurant with a great view, and we enjoyed a lovely evening getting to know our hosts a little better, before moving on to Ozone, the bar in the Ritz Carlton, at the top of the ICC tower. Now, this was a new one on me – the building is relatively new, and, from the bar on the 118th floor, the view was spectacular! It was also Halloween, so plenty of opportunities to people watch as they wandered, dressed up for the occasion – they go bonkers for it here, and take their costumes very seriously.

Day 3 and we’re meeting another supplier in the hotel business centre – plenty of great outerwear and fleece development, as well as good wovens, keen prices and very “on the ball”. I am looking forward to the development samples and prices that will come back from this meeting – it was all extremely positive and there is great potential. By 2.30pm we are ready to move on to our next meeting, but lunch has passed us by, and tiredness has kicked in – I feel dreadful! On arrival at our next appointment, our ever courteous host manages to conjure up a very late lunch in double-quick time – never has a cheese and ham toastie looked so good! More caffeine and I’m back in the room, for what turns out to be another very positive and exciting meeting, and I finish the day feeling very positive about all our AW13 development. There follows an evening off, some choosing to head for a low-key tapas dinner, and others of us taking a trip to a local Chinese spa – now this is an experience you should not undertake if you value your modesty, but we all felt much better after being scrubbed, wrapped, pummelled and walked on! Yes, it is true, the massage therapist holds onto bars on the ceiling and walks up and down your back – not without its painful moments but it does appear to be very effective at releasing knots and tension! Arrived back at the hotel to find it full of very drunk Westerners and Chinese dressed in “lederhosen” and “dirndl’s”, and staggering about very loudly, carrying tankards – apparently there is a German beer festival going on in a gazebo in the hotel car park, all week. The drunken revellers become a regular feature in our evening entertainment – the small stature of the Chinese clearly does not cope well with large quantities of German beer and their antics were endlessly amusing!

Having had an evening without food or alcohol, I feel much fresher and ready to face day 5, not one I would have wanted to endure with any trace of a hangover. Having retrieved our visas from the hotel concierge the previous evening, we headed off from Kowloon’s Ocean Terminal on the ferry to Nan Sha. Despite the fact that Hong Kong is now officially part of China, the immigration procedures are a little laborious, filling in arrival and departure cards every time you cross in or out of both! After an hour and a half on the ferry (amongst a party of Chinese paralympians), and 20 minutes in the car, we reached the factory, a large, well run and very efficient set up, with which I was very impressed. Again, this is a relatively new supplier relationship, for which I am very optimistic. There is huge potential for us here.

The return journey was a marathon! The route back to the ferry was blocked by a massive traffic jam, it being a friday afternoon, and many making their way back to HK for the weekend. So there followed 2 hours in the car to get to the train station, fill in departure card, through immigration to leave China, walk over border across bridge, fill in arrival card, through immigration to enter HK, jump on train, dragging sample baggage, 40 minute train journey before joining the MTR (underground), change trains twice in the friday night rush hour crush, and then a short walk back to the hotel from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. Knackered! Most novel moment was catching sight of a woman on the tube with very weird, bath-time inspired shoes – covered in plastic bubbles, small rubber ducks and a miniature scrubbing-brush sitting on top! This place is truly bonkers! Just time for a quick change (again), before heading down to an Italian restaurant in the shopping centre behind us for a well-earned dinner, stopping briefly on the way to admire the mental Christmas decorations going up all around us.

Day 5 – it’s Saturday and we are all headed for one supplier to negotiate across the children’s wear departments on our outerwear business for AW13. They have also managed to get the majority of our samples made, which is a result, given the timescale they had to make them. All in all, despite more confusion surrounding the payment terms, a much more positive meeting than I was expecting, although it drags on til 3.30pm. One of the teams moves on at lunchtime to recap with another supplier they met earlier in the week, and the rest of us head back to the hotel to get packed up, before enjoying a night out over on the island. We set off from the hotel on foot, before jumping on the Star Ferry (2.80HKD each, which is around 20p!) from Kowloon to Central, and then getting a taxi to the Hollywood Road area, to find the restaurant and meet up with an old colleague. A very enjoyable evening, great food, great company, and a chance for the whole team to relax a little, but I have one eye on the clock! We have a very early start in the morning!

Up at 5.30am on a Sunday morning, 4 of us are in the car at 6.30am, on our way to the airport for a 4 hr flight to Jakarta, Indonesia. This is another location I really love; culturally it is a really interesting place, the hotel we are staying in is great, the nightlife both interesting and exciting, and the business potential is huge. The late nights, early starts, and constant information overload, however, are clearly starting to take their toll and we all sleep most of the way. Everyone else has a final day in HK, before heading on to Sri Lanka later that evening. We arrive at our hotel in Jakarta at around 3pm, heading straight for a late lunch. It is hot, sticky and humid, but pouring with rain, so I leave the rest of my colleagues unpacking and head for the hotel spa and a Balinese Herbal massage. I make the mistake of posting this on Facebook, whereupon my 14 yr old daughter comments “Work, this is not work, it’s a holiday!”. The cheek of it! It is Sunday afternoon! And this is definitely no holiday! We round off the day with dinner in a new local bar/restaurant, meeting up with an old friend of mine who lives in Jakarta.

Day 7 and we’re up and out to visit our first factory. The traffic is diabolical here, though not quite as chaotic as Bangladesh, and it takes us just over an hour to get there. It is an outerwear factory, and one we have had a few problems with, but they have a new account manager managing our orders, so the meeting is positive and we are, on the whole, very pleased with what we have seen. Leaving later than planned, we do not arrive at our second destination, a large knitwear manufacturer, until 3pm. Thankfully, they have laid on some lunch for us – the local speciality “nasi goreng”, even managing to come up with a vegetarian version for our non meat eaters! I seem to be mentioning food a lot! You cannot imagine how much you think about it, when you are not sure what it will be, or when/if it will arrive! The product development is great, they have made some beautiful samples, the prices are good, and the factory set up is amazing. The designers amongst us are on fire and we put plenty of new styles in for all departments. We could easily have spent a full day here! We eventually leave at 7.30pm, to endure a 2 hr drive back to the hotel, a quick buffet dinner and bed. We are all exhausted.

Day 8 and it is beginning to feel like we have been away from home a very long time. We have meetings today at one of our agents offices – knitwear, cold weather accessories, socks, jerseywear and a quick look at some homeware, before dashing back to the hotel to meet 3 more potential new factories. These are all speculative appointments, but we see some very interesting product, so it will be all down to sending them some designs to cross cost and sample, and see where we land.

Day 9, our final day, and we’re heading for a mens trouser supplier that I have worked with for many years. They have always been very loyal to me, and seem happy to start small and work with us to grow potential here. We have a very positive discussion, before leaving to head straight for the airport, and the start of a marathon 20+ hour journey home via Hong Kong. I manage to read an entire book (the in flight entertainment on the first leg is broken!), before falling asleep and waking up just in time for breakfast, before landing at Heathrow at 5am. The first thing I notice is the freezing cold! I am craving a proper cup of “builders tea” and beans on toast!

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Diary of a Bangladesh buying trip…….

Posted on October 21, 2012 by BuyersEye

Leaving home at 5.30am on Sunday morning, to meet the buyer and designer travelling with me at the airport, I was clear in the knowledge that this was going to be a long and tiring week. What I hadn’t really taken into consideration was how many laughs we would have along the way! It’s this that keeps you going on one of these trips, when the lack of sleep, the long days, occasional bouts of Dhaka belly, and the endless hours spent in the car feel like they might tip you over the edge.

Our journey out, via Abu Dhabi, was uneventful, but I was very happy to make use of the free spa facilities in the business lounge at Heathrow, before getting on the first leg. Being a daytime flight, I found it impossible to sleep, but with the time difference, we arrived in Bangladesh at 5am local time, thus missing a whole nights’ sleep….not the best way to start! Having made it through immigration in double quick time, whilst waiting for our luggage, we amused ourselves by playing the Generation Game with the unusual items going round on the conveyor belt, which went something like this: cardboard box (several!), plasma tv, lone tube of toothpaste, childs buggy, small man…..yes, an actual person, going round and round for some reason best known to Bangladeshi baggage handling. I wish I had had my camera to hand! Our hotel car was ready and waiting, so we were whisked off without further delay.

Arriving at the Radisson in Dhaka, we had time for a couple of hours sleep, a shower, and a quick visit to the buffet for breakfast, before being picked up by our key Bangladesh agent, for our first appointment at 10.30am. There then followed two hours in the car, weaving our way through the completely chaotic, and frequently frightening, traffic. There are clearly no rules on the roads of Dhaka, and even if there were, I don’t think anyone would follow them. The general theory seems to be, the bigger and the louder you are, the more power you have to push your way through. Every car, bus and lorry looks completely battered, and with tuk tuks, pedestrians, the occasional cow or goat, and in one instance during this visit, an elephant, wandering amongst them, it is pure madness. It is always a relief to get out in one piece, with nerves slightly frazzled, and the only advice I can offer for coping with this is to always, always wear a seatbelt and keep your camera at the ready!

Our first meeting was at a shirt factory we have been dealing with for years, so we proceeded to go through the details on existing orders, brief them with new styles and ideas, and berate them for failing to make any of the photoshoot samples we require for a shoot taking place in South Africa next week. These meetings are frequently a real test of patience – you ask a question about whether something is possible, to which the answer is usually yes, yes, yes,yes, ah, no! It takes extreme powers of persuasion, and you have to be very clear about what you want, repeating it many times until eventually it sinks in. It rapidly becomes apparent why these visits and the face to face communication are so important. There are a multitude of opportunities for misunderstanding via phone or email!

Lunch arrives, and with it the next dilemma, to take the risk??? It is the usual (in this situation) curious mixture of local Bengali, accompanied by special fried rice (“vegetarian” which clearly has chicken in it!), and pizza, all of it usually, at best, lukewarm. I am starving, I take the risk!

On to our next visit, a vast jersey factory I know well, making many of our t-shirts. It is an amazing, vertical set up – knitting, dyeing and finishing its’ own fabric, before cutting, printing and making the garments themselves. We take a tour of the factory, which has its’ own water treatment plant, ensuring that no dirty water from the dyeing, printing and finishing, is discharged into the local environment. I feel very strongly about the ethical factors involved in producing garments here, as does the business I work for, so this sort of thing is always high on my agenda when visiting our manufacturers. We look at potential here, start negotiating some of our bigger t-shirt orders, and begin product development on some new styles.

7.30pm and its back into the car for the two hour journey back to the hotel, even more hazardous in darkness – a few near misses and a scraped wing mirror along the way, as we get squashed between a lorry and the central reservation. We make a beeline to the hotel buffet for dinner and a well earned glass of wine, before heading straight to bed, shattered.

Day 2 and we’re all feeling much better after a full nights sleep, with the luxury of a 9.30am pick up, and we’re off again, weaving our way through the bedlam to the first of three factories, a knitwear company, where we struggle a little to get our message across. Frustration sets in, but we persevere until we get to a stage where we think they understand what samples and styles we require, in which specific construction and colour – unless you specify every single detail, the resulting samples could be dreadful, so it is worth taking the time to be very, very clear about what you want, though I still leave with a nagging worry that the resulting samples may never materialise, and if they do, they may look nothing like we expected.

On to our second factory, and a repeat of yesterdays lunch – deep pan, supposedly vegetarian pizza, possibly vegetable rice, who knows? It is not that I am vegetarian, far from it, but one of my colleagues is, and when it comes to meat here, if you cannot identify exactly what sort of meat it is, it is generally best avoided anyway.

Finally reached our third factory at 5.30pm, a jersey wear factory that specialise in t-shirts and polo shirts. Having toured the factory, we sat in the office under very poor lighting, and by this I mean almost impossible to see, trying to select colours for our AW13 ranges. At one point, we suffered one of the frequent power cuts (Bangladesh produces roughly 30-40% less power than it actually needs), plunging us into absolute pitch black darkness until the reserve generator kicked in. I think we reached the point of uncontrollable delirium during this meeting, suffering an unstoppable fit of the giggles as we tried to decide whether the pantone colour “crown jewel” was appropriate or not for a t-shirt – childish and unprofessional, but I was beyond the point where I could hold it together and ended up with tears streaming down my face, while they all ran around trying to find me a tissue! This was followed by yet more hours in the car, arriving back at the hotel at 9.45pm, a repeat of the previous nights buffet dinner, and bed.

Day 3, and off to a factory making denim, and, surprisingly, coats, which is not something I have ever seen made in Bangladesh before. A very impressive set up, and one that I hope we can grow business with. Having put some new styles into work, the car taking us to our next appointment turned up before lunch did, so we had to move on. Now, at this point we were not with our usual agent in Bangladesh, but travelling with other, direct sources, and I have to confess to moments in the car when I was, and there are no other words to describe it, shit scared. As we made our way through the narrow streets, the car became stuck between lorries blocking the road in front, and traffic building up behind, surrounded by people, and beggars knocking on the window. Crowds in Bangladesh can be very volatile, and being slightly claustrophobic, I was very uncomfortable, but we eventually made it to our destination, very relieved to be there. Lunch never materialised here either, they didn’t seem to understand the vegetarian concept, so clearly decided it was safer not to bother – survived the afternoon on a diet of Oreo biscuits. Another word of advice – always carry biscuits/cereal bars and sweets for these moments, and to boost your energy levels for what is commonly known as the 3.33’s – when overwhelming jet lag sets in and you feel as if you just want to lay your head on the table in front of you and sleep.

Having left the factory at 5pm (an early night!), we spent 2hrs in the back of a car with a crazy driver, whose petrol guage was permanently on empty, breathing in petrol fumes and eau de cow as we followed a truck full of cows back to the hotel, leaving us all with a major headache. More on the cows later – they were not destined for a happy ending! Quick change of clothing and up to the hotels’ top floor restaurant for a much needed vodka and tonic, followed by dinner with one of our suppliers. For most of us, our meals were great, but yet again, the vegetarian option proved a challenge; “Zucchini Fantasy” turned out to be a boat shaped half courgette, complete with cracker sails, filled with garlic mushrooms, and garnished with sprouts! Eclectic, and, as it turned out, sickness inducing! On this occasion, the meat option seemed to be the safer one.

Day 4, and more factory visits, but back in the relative safety and care of our usual agents – out to a huge knitwear factory in the morning, and then back into the centre of the city for a greatly improved Indian lunch at the office, before heading off to visit a new, much smaller factory in the afternoon. I have to admit to being impressed by the owner of the factory, clearly prepared to invest in improvements, and very entrepreneurial. He also really seemed to understand exactly what we were looking for, I have high hopes for this partnership! As we arrived they were in the midst of moving the embroidery machinery from several floors up, to the ground floor – cue the unusual sight of seeing an enormous 20 head embroidery machine being winched out of the side of the building, with a man sitting on the end of it!

Back to the now familiar Radisson dinner buffet……..exhausted!

Day 5 and the final push to the end, starting to feel like the walking dead – tiredness and information overload; it is only the company of each other, and the endless comedy moments that are keeping me going. One such moment on our way back from a factory to the office when, at a major road junction in front of us, a lorry shed its load of small coloured plastic balls (of the type found in children’s ball pools). The first sensation was fear, as the sound of gunshot rang out (lorries and cars driving over the balls causing them to pop!), followed by utter mayhem as hordes of men, women and children ran amongst the moving traffic, trying to collect and steal as many balls as possible, and a lone traffic policeman ran around trying to stop them. Moments later all the balls had gone, disappeared into the crowd to be sold on by their collectors.

Having reached the office, we tucked into a much improved chinese lunch; but the highlight was definitely discovering that one of the guys from the office, had cooked our vegetarian colleague a vegetable dish and brought it in from home – what a sweetheart. We then carried on with a further meeting with a new factory, followed by a wrap up meeting with the team to ensure that they are clear about what needs doing and how many samples need to be sent through – we have covered a huge amount in the space of five days and there is a lot to discuss. We finish our working week with a tour of the office – from the window we can see what they have been talking about all week. The Eid muslim festival is approaching, during which each family will sacrifice a cow, or a goat. In preparation for this, thousands of cattle and goats are being brought into the city centre to be sold for slaughter. Every available space has been turned into holding pens for the animals, and the office overlooks a school playground, which is filling up with unsuspecting animals. At this point I cannot help feeling very relieved that we will be long gone before the slaughter begins, and the streets turn red with blood.

On our final evening, a treat, and dinner sitting out by the pool at the international club with our hosts from the office, and an opportunity to socialise and get to know them all a little better. We discuss their plans for the Eid celebrations, some staying for the traditional ceremonies, but many, in particular those who are not local, escaping out of Bangladesh, either home, or on holiday. Despite the tiredness, we thoroughly enjoy ourselves, finally able to relax over a bottle of wine and a nice meal, although the vegetarian option is again, curious! Insalata Caprese as you have never seen it before – an experience for our semi Italian vegetarian. A great ending to a very productive week, before leaving the hotel at 3am, for a flight at 5.25am. Unsurprisingly, I am asleep before the plane has even left the ground.

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Both a buying dilemma, and a more personal one……….

Posted on September 30, 2012 by BuyersEye

So, this week has seen us going through SS13 phase 3 (essentially our high summer) meetings in preparation for sign off, as well as reviewing our spring bookings to date to ensue that we have the right mix of product at the right prices, coming in at the right time. We have committed to buying ranges which fit the “buy now, wear now” strategy, but actually putting this into practice is not as easy as it should be!

The weather is playing a major part in this – it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that it will be warm when we expect it to be warm, and cold when we expect it to be cold! Add this to the fact that competition across the high street to launch new season products first has lead to product termed “spring” being launched in January, and “autumn” in June. In actual fact, retailers are finding themselves in an almost constant state of needing “transitional” ranges, which apply to neither season. It is only ever truly “winter” through December/Jan/Feb, and only ever has a real chance of being “summer” in July and August, although even then, warm weather is not guaranteed here in the UK! Conversely, we might have a very warm spell in september (when the stores are full of coats and knitwear), or a cold spell (snow has been known!) in April, when the high street is awash with shorts, t-shirts and sundresses!

All of this has been compounded by a stagnant economy, and led to the discount driven market we are currently experiencing. The only way out of this, it would seem, is to ensure that all but the extreme ends of each season, have a more trans-seasonal feel, with plenty of layering pieces, a variety of fabric weights and textures, grounded with a comprehensive range of core essential pieces, and of course a good selection of the “fashion must haves” of the moment. Getting these fashion pieces right, and buying them in enough volume to captalise on the potential of a trend before it dies, is a highly developed buying talent, and not to be under estimated – it can make or break a season for a fashion retailer.

My second dilemma is going to be equally as difficult to manage, and the outcome is not guaranteed to be successful whichever route I take – do I speak out and say what I really think, in order to try and help diffuse a difficult situation, even though it will definitely upset a few people along the way? Or do I stay out of it and let it run its’ course? Although it is not really my call, I do feel a sense of responsibility to do the right thing, but my tendency to open my “big mouth” has got me into trouble in the past – is it wise to take the risk? On the other hand, if I say nothing, and the situation deteriorates further, I will feel terrible. What to do? I know the answer to this, of course, but I am going to have to pick my moment very carefully!

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A very bumpy ride…….

Posted on September 21, 2012 by BuyersEye

Yet again, just when we think we’re making great strides forward, catastrophe strikes! This time in the form of a key supplier who has suddenly decided that they are not going to make garments any more (it’s too complicated and simply weaving the fabric and selling it on to other manufacturers is considerably easier to manage!) and we have several large orders due out of this particular factory over the next few weeks. Cue a great deal of heated debate about what they will and won’t do to fulfill these orders, which has eventually left us with significantly less stock than we should have had coming in! The unpredictability of life in a buying department, and the possibility of euphoria one day, followed by disaster the next is no longer shocking, simply, at times, very frustrating. To survive in this business we really have had to develop considerable resilience, and an ability to think very creatively to come up with solutions to manage such situations – it is not an environment for the faint hearted!

However, this downside was, as is usual, closely followed by an upside – a buying trip to Turkey. This turned out to be a very creative week, visiting existing suppliers to negotiate prices and continue product development, but also seeking out and introducing ourselves to potential new sources. We are constantly striving, in the ever more difficult economic and retail climate, to come up with better product, at more competitive prices, on shorter lead times in order to stay in touch with our high street competition, and this means constantly reassessing our sources of supply. We made some major inroads into our negotiations for programs of product across a variety of departments, to gain economies of scale, and a price advantage. In true buyer style, we also made time in the evenings, to enjoy a more relaxed discussion with some of our suppliers over dinner – critical to the development of our key supplier partnerships, but also an enjoyable way to see a little of the city, and enjoy the nightlife!

Back in the office for Monday trade meetings, and then a crack of dawn start on tuesday for a two day visit to Antwerp in search of more inspiration for AW13. Now I am generally pretty calm when flying, but climbing up the four steps to the door of a very small aeroplane at London City Airport (12 rows of seats, and propellors whirring!), I was not feeling my most confident! After a relatively uneventful hour in the air, things took a fairly dramatic turn as, coming in to land, when just a few metres from the ground, we suddenly began climbing very steeply upwards again. It was only as we were coming in for a second attempt at landing that the pilot advised us that the first attempt had been aborted due to a flock of seagulls having taken up residence on the runway! As I said, not a job for the faint hearted!

Having arrived, we hit the shops for two days, covering every inch of the city, searching for new ideas, building on colour palettes for the season and being inspired by the quirkiness of some of the city’s retailers. It was not without its moments of amusement – from the window full of Barbie dolls, to the “lost in translation” girls underwear, taxidermists nightmare in a children’s boutique window, and the very inappropriate gnomes – Antwerp has again proven itself to be quite unique! I was exhausted and my feet were numb, but I haven’t laughed that much in a long time!

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Shopping and celebrations…..it’s not a bad life!

Posted on September 8, 2012 by BuyersEye

So, it’s my favourite time in the buying calendar, the beginning of a new seasons’ development, and our designers are busy being super creative, pulling together colour palettes and story boards for AW13, whilst the buying teams are frantically pulling together samples and negotiating prices on the final phase of SS13, in preparation for sign off presentations. We’ve been out shopping for inspiration all over London this week, from the boutiques and markets of Portobello, to the high street and top end stores and brands, and trawling through the fashion magazines and trend websites, to kick start the creative design process for the season. It’s the “purest”, most creative phase in the buying process, before it all gets polluted with the price negotiation, quality and delivery issues involved in getting each product from concept to store! Everyone is full of excitement and optimism about the new season, looking at ways to grow sales and develop potential.

A good time then, to celebrate the summer with a party, which is exactly what we did this week, on a river boat on the Thames. The weather was amazing, the sunset spectacular, and we had a very privileged view of some of the most amazing sights in London as we made our way along the river. With all the excitement of the Olympics and Paralympics surrounding the city, London is buzzing, and the atmosphere was great as we drank and danced our way into the night. Everyone was decked out in “Grease” paraphernalia, with numerous pink ladies jackets, fifties circle skirts, silly wigs and glasses, t-birds leather jackets and some very tight trousers. Cue a great deal of very bad singing and dodgy dance moves, made all the more interesting by the rocky boat and slippery dance floor!

Back to the office on Friday,and a number of people were complaining of motion sickness (I suspect it might have had more to do with the alcohol consumption!). Having worked our way through a few supplier meetings, it was on to a very successful sign off on our teen girls range – having put so much effort into an overhaul of this department and the product, I am very proud of what the team have achieved so far, and I am really excited about the potential to dramatically improve the sales and profit on this area.

This week I’ll be in Turkey with the girls and teens teams, looking at new fabric developments and products, filling the last remaining gaps in our AW12 and transitional ranges. I’m really looking forward to spending a little quality time with the buyers, designers and suppliers! With a little luck we might also fit in one or two lively nights out in Istanbul – it’s a city I always look forward to visiting, an amazing blend of cultures and glamour!

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At last……..

Posted on July 29, 2012 by BuyersEye

Another pretty busy week – with a whirlwind 24hr trip to Glasgow. Having spent tuesday morning in sign off meetings, we headed for Heathrow, taking a late afternoon flight north. Following a fabulous night out in Glasgow, we set off for our store in Kirkintilloch the next morning, to look at the planned layout for the next few weeks. It’s an important day, as it is the first of these with new AW12 season stock, and I have to say, seeing all the new product, laid out as we had planned it, made me very proud – it looked really strong! Both the buying teams and the VM teams have done a fantastic job to get us to this point and I sincerely hope that all their hard work is translated into great sales!!!

Back in the office on wednesday and more sign off meetings – back down to earth with a bump! Its never easy being stuck in the basement for meetings which last hours, particularly as temperatures hit the 30’s, and everyone was clearly tired, overheated and grumpy! It did not go well! Why is it that just when I think I’ve got one or two product areas nailed, another couple fall off their perch? This job is really turning into the ultimate multi-tasking challenge! I think maybe we all need to be a little more honest with each other about what products we really love and believe in, and learn to leave the “nice”, the “average” or the “ordinary” behind!

After a big M&Co night out on thursday, which involved consuming plenty of Pimms whilst outside the pub in the beautiful evening sunshine, getting waterbombed several times by the kids off the housing estate next door (yes, really!), Friday dawned very blurry, and rather more successful. Great meeting with the stylist for our up coming Christmas photoshoot, followed by another sign off, this time lingerie, which was infinitely more straightforward and successful.

So now I am disappearing for a couple of weeks to recharge my very depleted batteries, hopefully on my return I’ll be fully of energy and bright ideas!

 

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Never a dull moment…..

Posted on July 22, 2012 by BuyersEye

Trade is tough out there, but there is definitely a growing feeling of optimism – the weather finally appears to be improving, which will help us clear the remainder of our spring stock, and we are seeing some very exciting results on new AW12 lines.

Personally, I am exhausted, and I imagine the rest of my team feel the same! It has been a very long and difficult spring season, with a few key team members missing, and trading through it has meant we have all been very busy, working very long hours and trying to fight our way into the best possible position to drive sales and generate profit. However, with a well deserved holiday in sight, and a full team of great people in place, I feel ready to take on the approaching AW season with enthusiasm.

This week has been another busy one – I feel as if I am perpetual motion! I even seem to eat my lunch on the move, whilst simultaneously having supplier or sign off meetings, reading and responding to emails, or often whilst running up and down the stairs! There is regularly a queue outside my office these days, and my brain is on information overload – but I love, love, love it!

Having waded through monday morning trade for eight departments, looking at new best seller reactions, deciding on repeats and reviewing stock levels and forthcoming deliveries, I just had time to meet a potential new supplier before heading out for dinner with friends over from Istanbul. After a late night return home, Tuesday brought visits to three suppliers, dashing around London trying to spend as much time as possible with each. One of these is a major source, manufacturing primarily in China, India, Turkey and the UK. The second a denim source, producing predominantly in China, and finally a soft wovens supplier, manufacturing in Romania. It was a really interesting day, and spending time with these suppliers, and those from our previous visits to Leicester, is already paying dividends, as the samples and prices have already started flooding in! Wednesday was pre-selection day for the footwear and girlswear teams – going through their plans for SS13, and reviewing the products we want to take to final sign off with our directors. Thursday, I think, was the most random day I have had yet in this new role – starting off in a fairly normal manner, meeting with a representative from our key source in Bangladesh, then a sign off meeting for a small proportion of our SS13 Homeware range. Following that I joined up with one of our marketing team to run a model casting for a forthcoming swimwear and lingerie shoot. Now, I am used to selecting models for kidswear shoots – this generally has more to do with finding nice looking children who can behave in front of a camera (as opposed to running around, screaming, crying, pulling faces, throwing things, and fighting with the other kids….all of which I have been faced with in the past), but swimwear models are new to me, and to the few straight men in the building, judging by their reactions as each girl was brought through to the marketing office! Seventeen stunning models later, having looked through all their portfolio’s, and seen all of them in both bikini’s and lingerie, we have booked a great girl for the shoot….. and I have a complex about ever being seen in a bikini again!

Friday and out at an off site management meeting in the morning, grabbing a late lunch on the way back to the office, before a strategy meeting with one of our teams in the afternoon. With a few new team members, and boundless enthusiasm, it was a really great meeting – loads of new ideas and plenty of fantastic product, giving me renewed confidence that we are definitely on the right track!

Finally, having left the office at 6pm, by 7.30pm I was taking part in a “pilates-a-thon”, in aid of Cancer Research UK. After the week I have had, the last thing I felt like doing was the plank, the cat and the oyster, but it’s a cause very close to my heart, and I felt much better after I’d finished it! Saturday morning, more Pilates, before heading to Bluewater for some therapeutic holiday shopping, followed by a trip to Cotswold, to stock up on equipment for my sons rapidly approaching World Challenge trip to Ecuador. Today….. off to fight my way through the crowds to see the Olympic Torch come through Bexley.

Is it any wonder I need a holiday?!?!?!?!

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Buying British

Posted on July 15, 2012 by BuyersEye

We’ve been in Leicester this week, visiting some of our UK suppliers, and, having spent much of my career buying in Turkey, Eastern Europe and the Far East, it has been a real eye opener! Within the space of a few square miles around this small city is a thriving garment manufacturing industry, largely supplied by local fabric suppliers and converters. I had no idea that we were actually still knitting, dyeing, finishing and printing so much fabric here in the UK.

We met with a variety of our existing manufacturer’s, who supply jersey tops and leggings, knitwear, dresses and other soft wovens. Many of these have been supplying for years, but are seeing growth in their businesses as buyers across the British retail industry strive to reduce risk by buying smaller quantities, closer to the season, trading back into best sellers, enabling them to drive up sales, in what is currently a very tough retail climate. There are pro’s and cons to this approach – it obviously has an impact on the intake margin percentage, as manufacturing here in the UK will never be the cheapest option, but the cash profit that can be generated in this way, can be greater, and the markdown required at the end of the season reduced.

Rising prices across the world are also contributing to the increase in local manufacturing here in the UK – rising labour costs in China and Bangladesh, tighter rules and regulations in both India and China surrounding the treatment of waste water (leading to cost increases as suppliers have to build or use facilities with water treatment plants so as not to discharge dirty water into  the environment), rising fuel costs leading to increases in the cost of freight.

It is becoming more and more difficult to negotiate low enough cost prices to justify buying on such long lead times, and as a result, the gap between the prices that can be achieved here and those overseas, is shrinking. For any fashion business, which relies on having the most wanted product as quickly as possible, the UK is a very attractive prospect, and the profit that can be generated is better than you  might expect.

There are obviously limitations to the types of product that can be bought here – items with a large number of manual processes involved in production, such as denim, or those which have a lot of Far Eastern components/trims, such as outerwear, are always going to be very expensive to make in the UK. There is definitely a need for a multi product, high street fashion business, to have a balanced supply base incorporating both local and overseas sources, in order to manage profit and speed to market.

Having made this visit, we will definitely be going back on a more regular basis, to make the most of the 3-6 week lead times! I have been impressed with the standards of the manufacturing facilities I have seen and the quality of the product produced. It’s great to know that there is so much creative product development going on here in the UK, and suppliers are investing in new machinery and taking on additional staff, in particular, designers, to improve their level of service and production capacity.

I think we have only just started scratching the surface, but I am very excited about the possibilities for clothing production here in the UK. With a little help from the government, and the support of the British retail industry, it feels like the right time for a revival of clothing “made in the UK”!

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An exciting week!

Posted on July 8, 2012 by BuyersEye

Its’ been a while since I gave you an update on a buyers’ life and it’s been all go, go, go! My role has changed to head of buying and I am now responsible for managing a team of buyers and designers in the ultimate multi-tasking challenge of creating the best possible ranges we can, from a multitude of worldwide sources.

Since my last post we’ve completed another trip to the Far East to visit suppliers, this time taking in India, Sri Lanka and once again, Hong Kong. We’ve also spent a few days in Istanbul, seeing suppliers there who can provide a quicker service, getting new ideas to market more quickly.

The retail market continues to be very challenging and as a result we are constantly revising our sourcing strategy and updating our product and plans, in an effort to stay one step ahead of the competition. This week will see us spending time in Leicester to visit our growing stable of UK suppliers. Having a few key sources here is becoming an ever more important part of our plans, as the emphasis moves to minimising stock levels and risk, constantly trialling and trading back into best sellers.

This week will also be a landmark in terms of my teams development, with a number of buyers moving departments and a former colleague of mine joining as a senior buyer – finally I will have a complete team, of very talented people, to help us drive business forward! We are also taking on an unprecedented number of new starters at more junior levels over the next few weeks, to bolster the team. It makes me very proud to be able to take on a group of promising youngsters, giving them a start in the very competitive world that is fashion buying!

 

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What a day!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by BuyersEye

A whirlwind of a day began with a shock to the system! Range presentation to board of directors brought forward from wednesday to today!!!! No time for breakfast. Straight in to discussion with head of buying to ensure we are ready and well prepared (I think it’s the girl guide in me!), then off to get set up. Presentation went really well, just a few tweaks here and there and we were out in under 90 minutes – got to be a record! So, that’s just about the end of AW2011, and roll on SS2012. Following shopping trips to Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, LA and New York, our designers are hard at work developing new ranges, whilst us buyers are working with the merchandisers to put a framework for the season in place. It’s a very exciting time of year!

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