An exciting week!

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!