Today I met with a group of top-level merchandising professionals and retail talent managers to discuss the current crisis in merchandising – the dire shortage of AMs. I’m in regular contact with many of my equivalents in other agencies, and we’re all struggling with this as much as our clients are.

It’s called the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but I find it’s more a time of frayed nerves and frazzled emotions. Even though we all know that years are ongoing cyclical epochs, there’s no doubt that in our minds we view them as linear with a beginning, middle and end. And as such as…

When I’m not recruiting merchandisers or playing with silver jewellery, I have another side gig as a journalist for a local magazine. Last month I had the privilege of interviewing Lucy Siegle. She’s carved out a career as a passionate campaigner for a more ecological way of living, presenting on Sky, BBC’s One Show and…

With so many businesses moving into remote working to help stop the spread of #coronavirus, some folk are feeling daunted having only ever worked in an office. But working from home is amazing – here’s why: 1) Not having to force yourself out of bed is the best thing ever. You’ll feel much less tired.

I’m sure you’re all as sick to the back teeth of this Brexit lark as I am. Regardless of how one voted in the referendum, I’m confident nobody wanted to see this total shambles. Our mighty nation is now an international embarrassment – we look like a Hugh Grant character, bumbling about and struggling to…

Another night out? Another round of selfies? But hang on – was I wearing the same top last week? With fashion sales not exactly flying at the moment, it seems a cruel truth that we’re taking more photos than ever before. And the fashionistas amongst us need to know that they’re tweaking their look in

Each time I get one of those “congratulate Bill Bloggs for x years at y” notifications, my heart sinks. 9 years. 12 years. 18 years. There comes a point when – putting it bluntly – there’s just not a lot to congratulate. The dinosaurs were great. In the Jurassic era. But nobody wants to employ

Following the introduction of the new GDPR law in May 2018, we wish to assure you that your privacy – and any information on you that AQUAretail holds – is totally safe and protected. We work diligently to ensure that the way we collect and store data is carefully done and meticulously managed. As a

Happy International Women’s Day: here’s to strong women everywhere. I know I’ve never hesitated to do the things I wanted in life, and have not seen any gender barriers blocking me. I grew up in a very female household; I went to an all-girls school; most of my bosses have been female; I’ve seen two female

The longer I recruit for the merchandising world, the more I come to the realisation that Assistant Merchandisers are the biggest and most essential cog in the machine that is retail. And as we all know, merchandising is – as a function – at the very heart of the smooth running of a retail head office. I think what

So you’ve resigned and the boss you’ve asked time and time again for a promotion / a pay rise is surprised? Erm…..REALLY?! Next thing you know – HR have cornered you and offered you everything but a company Rolex to stay (let’s be honest, if they had one they would offer it to you!) including

Our first graduate day of 2016 was held last week on the 2nd February and – as ever – we really put our 4 carefully selected grads through their paces! After a brainstorming session pre-2016, we decided to add some new elements to our already robust AQUAretail graduate sessions – as they entered their 11th year.

The news of Amazon opening their first physical store – a bookshop in Seattle – is an interesting move for them, and typical of the current wave of innovation and expansion we’re seeing in the post-recessionary retail world. Whereas the downturn years saw online businesses flourish due to their lack of additional costs, now that

Catherine Tooke – Director of Planning at Coach – tells AQUAretail how she managed her career to achieve the executive position she’s in today… When did you first find out about merchandising as a career? I found out about merchandising as a career after I did an internship in investment banking. Although I loved the

AQUAretail hears from Lucy Evans – Assistant Merchandiser at Mint Velvet – about how she launched her merchandising career after university… When I didn’t know what to do After completing A-levels in Maths, Textiles and Economics, I went on to study Mathematics and Management at the University of Leeds. At this stage, I had no

AQUAretail talks to Amy Turland, Ladieswear Senior Merchandiser at House of Fraser. What time does your day begin? 5.30am on a Monday as I like to be fully prepared for our Monday Trade meeting and – depending on performance – it could be a little or a lot of preparation, with some ad hoc analysis

In October 2015 AQUAretail joined forces with Drapers to host a roundtable event to discuss merchandising, and how the role is changing. Guests included senior executives from the likes of Thomas Pink, John Lewis, Gant, Dune, White Stuff and Net a Porter – along with James Clark who is a senior lecturer on B&M at

Fashion famously goes round in cycles – no sooner have we bid a (not so) fond farewell to the mini dress, the maxi dress is in. And nobody would have ever thought they’d welcome a midi length with open arms – least of all in combination with flats or brogues. I’ve recently been observing how

In July 2015, Drapers interviewed our MAF on the current state of the merchandising recruitment world – here’s what she said… Merchandising is an essential function within the retail head office family. Effective stock management, forecasting and trading are pivotal to the survival of a retailer in tough times, but equally key to helping sustain

The recent news that Inditex are bringing their Stradivarius concept to London has been greeted with rapturous applause this month. On top of that, rumours abound that US teen fashion brand Aeropostale and South Korean 8Seconds are both on the hunt for locations has piled on even more excitement. J Crew’s recent…