Buying and Beyond
Welcome to the Buying & Beyond podcast, the podcast for all things Retail Buying...and more!
Join us, Kate & Lyns, buyers and best friends, each week for industry insights, stories and expertise from real people in retail.
Enjoy honest stories and conversations, retail therapy and learn bite-sized tips from us and our guests from across the industry.
- Season 1 starts with Becoming a Buyer - the background to how we started in the industry, what exactly is a Buyer, working your way up the ladder and the main meetings and tasks working in Buying
- Season 2 is all about Being a Buyer - leading a team, coordinating trips, working with suppliers, product & personal development and sustainability
- Season 3 takes us beyond just the direct Buying team - we introduce merchandisers, talk about designers and new trends, burnout & life coaching.
- Season 4 is where we are inviting more Buyers and also Brands and Businesses to tell us their stories...
We are your modern day mentors; prepping Buyers of the future, empowering current Buyers and giving insights to retail businesses and entrepreneurs
If you like listening to this podcast, please rate, follow and share - you can also find us on instagram @buyingandbeyond
Come behind the scenes with Buying and Beyond
Buying and Beyond
Season 4 Episode 3: A full circle moment. Ex NEXT Buyer and founder of Mardy Bum Active Club Anna joins us to tell us her incredible and emotional story of how events in life have taken her from Fashion Retail Buying to Founder of an activewear brand.
Anna joins us to tell us her incredible and emotional story of how events in life have taken her from Fashion Retail Buying to Founder of an activewear brand. Anna loved her job as a Retail Buyer but events outside of her control ended her career. Her passion for fashion, buying and retail shines through in this episode, as well as her determination to turn every moment into a positive. There is an amazing full circle moment from her dissertation to the ethos of her brand now. Mardy Bum is a feel good brand, put comfort first and encourages positivity. Anna has made a conscious decision to ensure all of her products are sustainable, and believes these are non-negotiables that should be part of every retailers core. Organic growth, quality over quantity - it might be cost a bit more but she’s doing it the right way.
*please be aware this episode has a emotional story involving an accident which may be triggering for some.
This is such an incredible story that it is hard to find fjust 3 takeaways as there are so many, but here we go:
- Find a course you love, don't be afraid to change course if you don't feel like that's a path for you, courses with placement years are a great way to get into industry. Grad schemes are also a brilliant way to learn the ropes. Lots of retailers have these- with amazing training schemes
- Buying is a really colourful creative exciting career full of travel and amazing opportunities to product develop ranges within the security of an established brand BUT you have to work to get there, admin and the training process is fundamental to get you to the role of a buyer.
- Life is a journey and its how we roll with our experiences and use them to help shape our future - trust the journey through the ups and downs. Stay true to your personal brand values.
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Find out more about us www.buyingandbeyond.com