The glamour and the grind.
Last year, I finally developed a roll of film from an old disposable camera that I took on my first ever international buying trip back in 1999. This particular photo was taken on the streets of Paris, on the Boulevarde Haussman, where all the big fancy department stores were.
I will never forget the feeling of being in the chicest, most glamorous city in the world for the very first time. I was so jet-lagged but I didn’t care, I just wanted to get amongst it. In those days, we shopped-til-we- dropped, buying samples to bring back and “ knock-off” ( yep, we did that back then) and taking sneaky photos on our digital cameras because there was no such thing as a camera phone then. We often got chased out of shops for that as well.
These were heady days, I loved everything about it - the hectic pace , the excitement of business class travel , but most of all the fashion.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t bring back a few outlandish trends that never managed to translate to the Australian market, but that was the name of the game , and eventually you learned which ones were just the icing and which ones were going to set the market on fire.
But as a Buyer, you are only as good as your gross profit in the end , so there was a lot of pressure that went with that as well. We’d often fly straight in to China with our bags of samples to visit factories, choose fabrics and get costings. We’d be having to build an on-trend, strategic, cohesive and profitable range, and our job was to choose the right things to back for our customers. We didn’t always get that right, but when we did, it was a rush like no other.
In the days before social media, trends took a lot longer to bubble up so you had a bit more time to react and test, unlike today when it’s pretty much instant, and your customers have so much more choice.
In today’s fast paced and competitive landscape it’s still about the results, but if you are a senior buyer , a buying manager or a category manager, you’ve also now got a team to lead. You have to inspire them, teach them to strategise and plan ahead, and empower them to be their best .
All this while managing 3 seasons at once, weekly trade, managing up, down and cross-functionally.
The KPI‘s are all important but if you haven’t built your leadership skills and emotional intelligence, you’re going find it difficult to crack that next promotion, and keep yourself healthy .
I had some incredible leaders as I came through the ranks, who I am still inspired by today. There were also a few who weren’t so great, and they also serve to remind me of what NOT to do.
It’s a juggling act, and companies all too often promote high-performers without the necessary up-skilling. And that sets nobody up for success.
My leadership style was always to explain, be clear and honest and let my people do what they needed to do. I let them make mistakes, and I taught them how to self-correct quickly.
I didn’t know I had ADHD back then, but I do know that my creative and fast-thinking brain set me up to be a GREAT Buyer
What I say to emerging leaders now, is to be the leader you needed when you were coming through.
Always learn, never micro-manage and learn to laugh at yourself.
Nobody is going to die if that dress is 3 cm too short.
Warmly,
Sally
