Joanne Mercer
MYER, General Manager, womens footwear and accessories, 68 shops in Australia
Interviewed by Florence Julienne
Source : C+ ACCESSORIES – July 2014
For which occasions to you come to shop in Paris :
Pre-Collections and Paris Fashion Week. The main purpose for coming to Paris at these times is to work with international designer brands, however we also look at retain and gain inspiration from the visit to Paris.
How do you prepare your visit ?
We always prepare for our visit working across both Stylesight and WGSN, to interpret the trends and how they translate to the Australian market. We do some design and development prior to the trip for our Myer Exclusive Brands, and then travel to buy the international brands. We prepare both color and style trends according to brand and when we travel, we confirm our development. At Myer we work closely with our suppliers and value long-term relationships. Therefore, we are always looking for new resources to add to our supply base.
How do you work there ?
We will do impulse buying and shop for new brands, if we believe they can offer our customers something different. We don’t like to offer deposit, as we are a large department store with systems in place that don’t allow for this. However at times to help secure a brand exclusively we have been prepared to help a brand to ensure we start a partnership. We prefer exclusivity when possible. We work within a budget however at times we will alter this. We do not have a budget by country but by brand. Our International Designer Accessories business accounts for about 40% of the total designer business.
Does Paris, fashion capital, meet your expectations ?
Paris meets and exceeds our expectations… What we love most is the innovative retail and beautiful French brands.
