Swapping tat for quality in the retail clothing market

A fascinating article in today’s Guardian contains some really useful material for any AS or A2 Business student or for those taking the BTEC First in Retail.

I found this article in today’s Guardian to be a really interesting read.

The article reports that Jane Reynolds has swapped her role as director of merchandising and buying for Tesco’s clothing operation in Europe for a job running the online lingerie retailer Figleaves.com, which has a turnover of only £30m.

In the interests of researching this blog entry, I had to visit the figleaves website of course.  Those of you with from a sheltered upbringing may find the content on that retail site a little eye-opneing!.

There are some cracking quotes from Jane Reynolds in the article. In particular, I highlighted the following:

“There is a massive change coming in retail. I am fed up with walking in and out of shops full of tat. I just want better” - does this signal the beginning of the end of for fast-fashion?  Which consumers are now looking for the higher quality garments?

“It is,” she says, “just so much better to be working with lovely products rather than just being price-driven.” Jane Reynolds is moving from a mass market retail environment that is almost entirely price-driven (tesco’s strapline is “every little counts” ) to a niche segment where products are likely to be postioned at premium prices.  An interesting contrast which will test her retail skills.

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 5,000 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!

Comments