So here I am, a woman in retail, having been part of the industry for the last 20 years and this incredible journey started very proudly at the age of 16 from a high street store of a leading women’s fashion brand in the North East of England.
This start to my career was not as most would say, from the bottom, but rather from the very important beginning. Trained as a British Retailer from the shop
floor, completing a fashion degree (BA) and then moving to a major buying office in the centre of London I later moved on to foreign parts. This change lent itself to a whole host of new challenges not only in terms of retail but as a woman in retail.
“
I learnt the true meaning of listening, not hearing, but listening; recognising the needs of not the majority but individuals.
Management was somewhat different, leadership was clearly confused and being a Woman in International Retail was certainly not something guaranteed to gain me brownie points; so my question was how I was going to make a difference to bring about tangible results in the form of sales and loyal customers that were served with a genuine smile. Clearly there was a Shop/Head Office divide and the idea of team work between the two was simply ludicrous. Following instructions was the order of the day and decisions taken by those in the head office were not something to challenge. Using one’s initiative would be frowned upon and to consider being commercial was in some cases something not even understood. It was clear, for a store to make decisions; these must come from the ‘powers that be’, the Head office.
And this was the pressure, what was missing was respect and building relationships; power was without doubt the leading management technique.
This powerful force was also present as a male/female divide with the majority of head office roles held by men and most sales advisor roles being held by women. For women on the shop floor, furthering their career was not something they had considered, not because they didn’t want to but rather it was clearly something in their minds that could not possibly take place.
This was not only about changing a company culture but changing the mindset of a countries culture and expectations. The task at hand was now far more than initially envisioned and what exciting experiences I had ahead of myself.
Contact
International Women in Business
info@iwib.org www.iwib.org
www.a1retailmagazine.com
Earlier I mentioned ‘the bottom’ as the very important beginning. It was the hours of cleaning fixtures and fittings, unpacking boxes, pre‐retailing, tidying departments and standing on fitting rooms as a teenager that allowed me to respect, understand and identify the needs of the many sales advisors on the shop floors. In the majority of cases what they needed most was not pay rises, more holidays or extra benefits but only to be appreciated and given the opportunity to learn.
As with many things in life when looking to make a change those that oppose the idea require positive results to be proven otherwise and fortunately for me I was given this opportunity to engage in the steps for making this important change by a leader in retail, a man who too was a foreigner who came into the business as the General manager and was supportive in embracing change. At this point, theory was put into practice and the beginnings of changing the company culture began. Gaining a Store Management’s trust and in turn respect was first on the agenda and this is where the biggest lesson in my career began.
I learnt the true meaning of listening, not hearing, but listening; recognising the needs of not the majority but individuals. I followed a determined role of leading by example by never asking others to do that which I was not willing to do myself. So with sleeves rolled, a team surrounding me, I identified each individual’s talents and skills and as a team we all set out to bring about this positive change. After six months of training, 10 stores of over 100 people each gained a full understanding of the basic concepts of retail commercialism, visual merchandising, driving sales and increasing basket value and what was the result?
These women were now engaged in their new career.
They felt needed, appreciated, respected, with a purpose and an opportunity to grow. They discovered skills they never knew they had and consequently their days became more pleasurable and productive.
Ironically Customer Service training was the least required as Sales and Service was now served with not only a genuine smile but with a purpose and an understanding.
This passion for investing in others continued for a further seven years of my career in three other leading retailers during which time several members of staff were promoted, others remained loyal and long term employees and I later founded the Non Profit Organisation, IWIB, International Women in Business. Today IWIB strives as a global team of International Women in Business from all industries, nationalities, cultures and countries. We position ourselves to reach out to women across the globe, supporting one another through sharing knowledge and know how, learning from each other’s experiences, inspiring one another with our achievements and failures and empowering each other to start, change, persevere and succeed. We get connected, team up and invest in the personal and professional growth of all women ensuring they reach their full potential as International Women in Business.
51
“
A1
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84