Retail Strategist & Consultant | Expert Business Growth Support

Retail Strategist, Buying Expert, Consultant

With 20 years retail experience in buying sourcing and strategy across multiple product types, I have managed budgets of over 100 Million and increased sales, margin and market share in Primark, M&S, and Asda

Get in touch to see how I can help you grow your brand

GET IN TOUCH

Have you got the teams in place with the relevant experience to make your strategy a reality?

A bespoke service is ideal for brands or corporates who need longer term support in their business through mentorship or done for you services.

You want to launch new product areas but don’t need a full team
You need a retail consultant to research a project for you and assess its viability and commercial prospects before moving forward.
You need a freelance buyer for a short period of time
You need a fresh pair of eyes to do an audit on your business and advise where your potential sales growth and profit can come from
Your team needs training so that they are developing products and building commercial ranges that can drive your business forward

Bespoke & Corporate Services

Sourcing & Product Development

From Bras to beauty to Christmas baubles I’ve developed and sourced multiple products from over 18 countries with my little black book ( well it’s not very little) and in this case size matters?

You may want to introduce a new product category or resource an existing product type without adding to your teams workload due to time or skill set.

I’ve added over £40 million in incremental products, set up 21 factories in 6 months, added 7% margin through resourcing core lines

Business Strategy, Creation, Implementation & Support

Working with you to develop tailored business strategies to identify market opportunities. Helping to optimise your product offerings ensuring a competitive edge in the market.

Implementing collaboratively with internal teams key ideas and initiatives from streamlining buying processes to overseeing supplier negotiations.

Supporting the business to ensure results are delivered and plans are adjusted if needed. (Certified strategist)

Buying Team Training

You may have scaled quickly and the team are lacking in skills to take you to that next stage, because first of all it was about getting more bums on seats. Now it’s about thinking strategically, Developing commercial products & commercial awareness.

We can work collaboratively to build a training programme or I can deliver one off sessions that help equip your assistant buyers and buyers with the tools and knowledge so that they are making the best informed decisions for your business.

Using my 20 years experience in buying, my certified strategy qualification and my recent experience in creating and delivering buying & merchandising programmes for Level 4 & Level 6 apprenticeships I can work with you to create workshops that include but are not limited to building commercial ranges, developing a strategy & Understanding your customer.
Bespoke training that fits to your business model.

Buyer for Hire

Not ready for someone full time? But need someone who can roll up their sleeves get in stuck and help move the needle in the business. Let me help, I offer fractional and freelance buying support utilising my 20 experience from 20 years working in buying and retail

Project management

End to end project management from assessing viability to bringing products to market and managing teams

Prince 2 qualified

The Process

First, we need to be the right fit so let’s hop on a call and we can chat about what you need and how I can support you.

We will discuss the scope of the project or tasks, timelines and objectives.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL

Recent bespoke projects include :

✓ Providing wholesale support to an established underwear brand and driving £87K in new revenue in a 4 month period

✓ Grant application support and securing £30k worth of grant funding for an SME

✓ New product launch for an influencer led brand, sourcing and negotiating prices from idea to market in two months managing suppliers, packaging and logistics

✓ Buying team training for a blue chip multi billion pound business over a 6 month period

✓ Increasing Margin for an established footwear brand by 10% resourcing their offer. Auditing their business to identify product gaps and missed opportunities

✓ New Income Stream from own brand beauty accessories for an established beauty distributor to drive more profit to their bottom line and offset lower margin products

✓ New beauty product launches , working directly with the brand founder of multi million pound, award winning beauty brand, to source, develop and bring to market a range of korean face masks.

LET'S BOOK IT IN

Testimonials

Truly inspirational in anything she does

“Nicole worked for me on footwear and then went on to set up the ps beauty brand at Primark. Her passion for product is outstanding, she is always full of new innovative ideas. Nicole is someone you can rely on to get the job done – truly inspirational in anything she does.”

Angela Bannerman Ladies Buying Director, Primark

Thorough, professional, inspired

“Nicole is thorough, professional, inspired and an absolute pleasure to deal with. In four days she wrapped up a diverse project, organised information in a focused and clear manner. Communication was swift and to the point but detailed, giving us the tools and concepts to move forward confidently. I look forward to working with her again.”

Megan Potgieter Head of Buying, PnP Clothing South Africa

Nicole's delivery was excellent

“I would highly recommend for her expertise and professionalism within the Buying sector. Nicole delivered apprenticeships up to level 6 for Northern Training Academy, all learners passed with distinctions and feedback on Nicole’s delivery was excellent.”

Mandy Priest – Northern Training Academy

Passionate, creative and knows her stuff

“Nicole is passionate, creative and knows her stuff when it comes to products, customers and business. I first met Nicole when we launched Cocoa Brown into Primark in 2013 a few months after I started the business. Her insight into what the customer wanted helped drive new development for CB products that then went on to become great successes. She is dynamic, motivational and strategic with an entrepreneurial spirit and is a great ally to have on your side.”

Marissa carter founder Coco Brown, Carter Beauty

Trusted By…

other ways to work with me

POWER HOUR -ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS

This focused session is perfect for retail business owners who want to tackle a specific challenge.

Clients have successfully utilised these intensive sessions to refine pricing strategies, develop actionable plans for launch and much more.

Unlock your potential and gain personalised insights that will propel your business forward

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INTENSIVE VIRTUAL DEEP DIVE - 3 hour session

Getting under the hood of your business to create an action plan and strategies to reach your goal

Expect breakthroughs and lightbulb moments focusing on 1-3 objectives.

We’ll get into the weeds of your business to spot the potential and create a plan so you can move forward with confidence and clarity

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1-1 in person strategy day

Cut out the noise and lets focus on your business.

There is nothing like meeting in person, making that connection and focusing on what is going to make the difference in your business.

Perfect for you if you are ready to level up and step into CEO mode starting and scaling your business

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BESPOKE/CORPORATE

Ideal for SME brands or corporates who need longer term support in their business through mentorship, done for you services or bespoke retainer packages.

Bespoke projects could included sourcing and product development, project managing to launch or wholesale growth focus and much more.

Ideal for you if you need additional skills and experience in your business and someone to roll up their sleeves and get hands on.

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