Hundreds of retailers, learning providers and members of the press including WorkLife magazine, recently gathered in London and Sheffield, to hear Mary Portas unveil the new series of master classes, inspired by Mary and her extensive retail knowledge.


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about [ THE INTERVIEW ] MARY PORTAS


Mary got her first job in retail at the age of 16 working on Saturdays in John Lewis, she went on to work in Harrods full time before working as a display manager at Topshop.


She was the Creative Director of Harvey Nichols and in 1997 set up her own retail branding and communications agency, Yellowdoor.


Mary is currently the Creative Director at Yellowdoor which have created campaigns for a wide range of brands on the high street including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis and Swarovski.


Mary has also written the books ‘Windows - The Art of Retail Display’ and ‘How to Shop’. She has also written features for the Saturday Telegraph Magazine and sits on the panel judging the annual national Telegraph ‘Best Shops in Britain’ awards.


In 2009 she set up her first permanent shop called Mary’s Living and Giving for Save the Children in Edinburgh. Her TV career is now blossoming thanks to the success of the first series of Mary Queen of Shops where she went behind the scenes of the fashion retail world by rescuing a series of failing boutiques.


Mary explained some more about family life…“I grew up knowing every shopkeeper in our town, they were the cornerstones of family life,” she said.


“The rise of the supermarket giants - and our love affair with them - is killing Britain’s small shops. We’re sacrificing not just our greengrocers, our butchers and our bakers, but also our communities for convenience.”


Indeed, her latest third series showed the feisty red head from Rickmansworth take on the supermarkets as she helped six British shopkeepers to stay in business.


22 - WORK


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