Case study:
ETHEREAL LONDON
Annie Holt and her husband Barry launched Ethereal London in 2017. Their elegant, feminine womenswear embraces the fact that one size can’t fit all, offering choices in lengths, sleeves and other style preferences so that women can find the dress they love in a fit that suits them.
With both different styling options and sizes to account for within the range, it was important that Annie (the face of the brand) had a reliable tool to help her plan and manage her products. She needed to be able to look at what she’d be selling in the next 6-12 months and feel confident that the styles she designed and developed would not only be beautiful but would also make financial sense.
Having worked for large clothing brands in the past, Annie knew how important this was. She also knew how much more important it would be now that she was running a smaller business of her own.
Most of my clients ask me to build a range planning tool for them, but Annie’s experience in the industry meant she was already using a format she liked. Her range planning tool allows her to put together her collection in a way that meets all of her customers’ needs (shape, colour, pattern, price), and also her own business’ needs (profit, stock levels, product details).
Instead of building a new tool from scratch, in this case Annie asked me to help improve her existing tool’s functionality. We had a short consultation to identify exactly what she needed it to do so we could upgrade it to work for her business. We agreed that automating as much as possible, creating dynamic summaries and linking information across different worksheets were top of the list, and I set to work to make it all happen! The automated summaries mean Annie can quickly see any areas that need extra attention. She can focus on creating her stunning collections and dealing with her customers’ bespoke needs, rather than spending so much time doing sums!
Annie was happy with the work, saying "Claire brings an amazing wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table and can support retail businesses of all scales through technical support in the shape of process, planning and technical toolkits and also through advice, training and action implementing merchandising skills and principles to enable your business to successfully grow."