RETAIL RECRUITMENT & OPERATIONS CONSULTANCY

We hire the people who run the floor — because we've run it.

The Retail Practice builds retail teams and systems for brands who need more than a CV in an inbox: recruitment, CRM, visual merchandising and store opening support, led by 20+ years of hands-on multi-site leadership.

L01 — RECRUITMENT L02 — CRM & SYSTEMS L03 — MERCHANDISING L04 — STORE OPENING
ESTATES MANAGED — 21+ LOCATIONS MARKETS — UK · IRELAND · SPAIN · AUSTRALIA SECTORS — LUXURY · FASHION · LIFESTYLE · HOME
20+ yrs
Retail & hospitality leadership across the UK, Europe and Australia
€7.3M → €15M
UK turnover growth delivered as Country Manager, APM Monaco
21%
Sales growth across the Australian estate in the same role
15 stores
New locations opened end-to-end — recruitment through launch
WHY THE RETAIL PRACTICE

Search firms sell you a shortlist. We've stood on the shop floor on a bad Saturday.

Most recruitment relationships end at the handshake. The Retail Practice was built on the belief that hiring, systems and store standards can't be separated — a great Store Manager placed into a broken CRM, or a strong hire dropped into a badly briefed lease, is a placement that fails within a year.

Every engagement is led by someone who has actually carried the P&L: 21 luxury locations run concurrently across four countries, 15 store openings delivered start to finish, and leadership teams built from the ground up in fast-paced, service-led environments from Primark to APM Monaco.

That's the difference — advice grounded in what actually happens on the floor, not just in the org chart.

Four services, one practice — run like a store directory, not a services menu.

Engage one level or all four. Every service is delivered hands-on, by people who've done the job themselves.

LEVEL 01

Recruitment

Leadership & store teams

From CV and phone screening through to executing the training plan — I've done these roles myself, so I know what the business actually needs from them. The result: you're never one resignation away from a leadership gap.

LEVEL 02

CRM & Client Systems

Client experience & reporting

From clienteling and appointment-based selling to brand presentation and in-store service standards — I design customer journeys that build loyalty, then train your teams to deliver them every day. I can also build a bespoke training platform for consistent onboarding and execution across the business.

LEVEL 03

Visual Merchandising

Presentation & brand standards

Premium presentation audits and brand experience standards across single or multi-site estates, built to hold up on a busy Saturday, not just launch day.

LEVEL 04

Store Opening Support

Site strategy & launch

Location sourcing, SWOT analysis on prospective sites, lease negotiation support, and hands-on launch execution — from empty unit to opening day. I've opened 15 stores myself, so I know exactly what needs to happen before the doors do.

HOW WE WORK

A three-step process, built for retail timelines.

01 / DIAGNOSE

Walk the floor

We start on site — reviewing the numbers, the team, the systems and the space, not just a job spec on a page.

02 / BUILD

Recruit & set up

We hire the right people and put the CRM, merchandising standards or launch plan in place around them.

03 / RUN IT

Stay hands-on

We stay through onboarding, launch week and the first trading cycle — the point where most engagements stop.

Track record

Selected results from 20+ years leading customer-facing retail operations.

Case File — Luxury Jewellery

APM Monaco

Country Manager · AU, UK, IE & ES · 2024–2026
  • 21 locations run concurrently across four markets
  • 21% sales growth delivered across Australia
  • UK turnover grown €7.3M → €15M
  • 15 new stores opened — recruitment through launch
  • Quarterly customer events run across all 21 sites
Case File — Premium Fashion

Ted Baker

Area Manager · Australia & New Zealand · 2018–2023
  • 11 locations, over $11M annual turnover
  • Store Manager leadership development programme
  • Succession planning across the regional team
  • Budget, payroll & stock control ownership
Case File — Lifestyle Retail

West Elm

Store Manager · Sydney · 2016–2018
  • 23% year-on-year sales growth
  • Team of 20+ led and developed
  • Community partnerships & experiential retail events
  • Full ownership of merchandising & labour budgets

Hiring your next leader — or opening your next store?