Retail Disrupted

• Sneakers and Scaling with The Sole Supplier Founder

  It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Natalie shares her own neurodiversity journey and speaks to fellow ADHD-er and founder of The Sole Supplier, George Sullivan. George is a 34-year-old founder, born and bred in London. Ten years ago, whilst working in recruitment, he started a platform to help people find shoes. Since then, that online community has grown into an 8-figure global business and a key strategic partner to some of the world’s biggest brands like Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma, and more. George and his team have built a community of over three million dedicated streetwear enthusiasts, generated over 1.5 billion impressions and driven over £250 million in revenue for brands. Natalie speaks to George at the Retail Technology Show press briefing. For more about the event, visit https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com/   Watch George Sullivan’s tips on how to build a business with ADHD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzETy0vCHxk  Check out The Sole Supplier: https://thesolesupplier.co.uk/  

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• Ebay’s Global Fashion GM on Secondhand, Sustainability, and the Say-Do Gap

  Kirsty Keoghan is responsible for eBay’s global fashion business. She joins Natalie to discuss the evolution of the fashion category on the platform, emphasizing the importance of a frictionless experience for both buyers and sellers, and the trust built through authenticity guarantees. Kirsty shares how the competitive landscape is evolving and the impact of eBay’s decision to remove fees for private sellers. The discussion also touches on how consumer attitudes towards preloved are changing, what makes the marketplace model so attractive to legacy retailers, the integration of AI in enhancing the shopping experience, and the future trends that could drive further adoption of secondhand shopping. 📺 This is a video episode and can watched on the Retail Disrupted YouTube channel here. This episode is sponsored by the Richmond Retail and E-commerce Directors’ Forum. For more info, including how to register for the event, visit: https://www.richmondevents.com/forums/details/ret25 Kirsty’s bio: Kirsty Keoghan is eBay’s Global GM of Fashion, where she is responsible for the company’s global fashion business.  Since joining eBay in 2011, Kirsty has led a number of initiatives, including the launch of free fashion selling, the pivotal pre-loved fashion partnership with Love Island and the successful launch of Authenticity Guarantee in the UK. She has been leading the charge in repositioning eBay as a destination for buying and selling authentic high-end items. All of which has culminated in Kirsty being recognised in Retail Week’s Future Leaders 2023 list and The Tech List 2024. Kirsty is also an eBay seller herself, having joined the platform in 2007. Prior to joining eBay, Kirsty had a decade-long career working at some of the UK’s biggest fashion brands, including Arcadia Group, M&S, TK Maxx, and Brand Alley. Kirsty is mother to two fashion-obsessed kids, and loves to shop herself, investing in a mix of new and pre-loved classic pieces.  

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  22:47
• Jigsaw CEO: Uncertainty And Disruption Is Our New Normal

  Hash Ladha, CEO of Jigsaw and former CEO of Oasis and Warehouse, joins Natalie to discuss fashion retailing, the resurgence of accessible luxury, and lessons for the next generation of retail leaders. 📺 This is a video episode and can watched on the Retail Disrupted YouTube channel here. Hash and Natalie explore: Accessible luxury – with competition intensifying, how does Hash see the sector evolving? Why there hasn’t been a “normal” year in retail since the Brexit vote in 2016. From the Budget to tariffs, what’s keeping the fashion industry up at night? Self-checkout in clothing stores – does this enhance or detract from the customer experience? Why the first step to combating returns is sticking to a full-price proposition and why fast and free delivery is a race to the bottom. Leadership – Hash shares his views on what makes a good retail leader, drawing on lessons from both personal and professional experiences. DEI – as some US retailers dismantle their DEI policies, what are Hash’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion? This episode is sponsored by the Richmond Retail and E-commerce Directors’ Forum. For more info, including how to register for the event, visit: https://www.richmondevents.com/forums/details/ret25  Hash’s bio: Hash Ladha is CEO of Jigsaw, which is a contemporary British fashion brand founded in 1970. He was appointed CEO in November 2023 and previously had served as Group CEO of Oasis and Warehouse. Prior to that he was COO of the group. He joined as Group Multi Channel Director from Asos where he had been Marketing and Operations Director.    Ladha has a proven track record in leading and growing omni-channel businesses. A passionate leader and strategist that has successfully created differentiated customer propositions, developed brands and accelerated sales. Results oriented and pragmatic whilst driven to achieve; someone who values people, their contribution and invests in their development. A very strong belief in creating an inspiring place to work and creating a strong ethos of personal accountability. A leader who understands the importance of diversity and inclusion and is a champion of the cause, who harnesses an open and honest culture, underpinned with integrity. For more, visit https://retaildisrupted.com

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  35:12
• AllSaints Founder: The World Cannot Afford Fast Fashion

  Stuart Trevor is the Founder of AllSaints and STUART TREVOR, his eponymous sustainable fashion brand that launched in 2023. He joins Natalie to talk about why he decided to launch a clothing brand that doesn’t produce any new clothes. They discuss: What inspired Stuart's move into sustainable fashion. A founder’s vision and being clear on what makes your brand special: AllSaints was a success in part because “there was nothing else like it”. Why longevity, not price, is the key to unlocking value in apparel. Which high street brands are the biggest offenders when it comes to UK clothing waste? Demand coming from LA consumers after the wildfires. The importance of authenticity when launching a fashion brand. Why Stuart has a problem with M&S pants. Bio: Stuart Trevor started his career as a fashion design student in 1985, aged 19 won the Smirnoff Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall and became the first ever designer and buyer for REISS.  Aged 28, he founded AllSaints. Many of the clothes that feature each week in the top 10 bestseller list of the high street brand today were designed by Trevor over 20 years ago. ‘AllSaints was my baby, I created that look from scratch, all inspired by my teenage years. That best selling biker jacket started out as a vintage find, the ramskull was my first logo design, a cross between my love of animals, pirates and punk rock and it took over the world!’ ‘Inspired by a childhood obsession with Bowie, Kate Bush & Adam Ant, customising hand me down clothes gifted from my mother’s church friends. I learned to sew at 9 years old in Dundee, my ambition from very early days was to create the world’s greatest rock n roll brand. I’m still on that mission and I’m determined to make it happen’  ‘Now I want to create something that brings the same joy, even more pleasure to people whilst doing what’s right for our planet’ Trevor started customising vintage finds, then began creating small quantities of reworked outerwear in limited edition from a small factory in East London.  ‘People want to have more fun, rediscover the magic of fashion, buy clothes that will last, that have the smallest possible environmental impact. We make this possible.’ The first STUART TREVOR collection was shown at an exclusive launch party during London Fashion Week on 15 September 2023. It was a huge success with over 750 people from all across the world turning up, hanging out and sharing their favourite thoughts about sustainability, music, art, fashion, design and culture.  We’re mentoring the youth of today with a similar passion for the future of fashion - we’re not going to change our love of fashion and design, we’re determined to change how we affect the planet by creating a better world. It doesn’t get much more sustainable than this! Links: STUART TREVOR Retail Technology Show  

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  17:26
• Every Little (Bit of Innovation) Helps: Chatbots, Digital Twins, Autonomous Stores, and Drones with Tesco

  Jane Mustoe, Senior Technology Director at Tesco, joins Natalie to discuss how Tesco is using tech to redefine both customer and colleague experiences. They explore: Tesco's recent innovations – GetGo and frictionless shopping, gen AI chatbots, digital twins, mobile apps for store associates, and more. All about the margins – the importance of achieving marginal gains in a low-margin industry. Always keeping an eye on future innovations and finding pockets of “reality” amongst the “hype”. Why over half of innovations fail, why that's important, and lessons from Tesco’s drone trial. Why getting the culture right is ‘make or break’ for organisations and the need to balance agility with operational efficiencies. DEI and advice for the next generation of female tech leaders. Today’s episode is brought to you by Centric Software. Centric Software provides an innovative and AI-enabled product concept-to-replenishment platform for retailers, brands and manufacturers of all sizes. As experts in fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home and related goods like cosmetics, food & beverage and multi-category retail, Centric Software delivers best-of-breed solutions that optimize planning, pricing, design, product development, sourcing and production.  📣 Register for Centric Connect 2025. Connect with Jane on LinkedIn. For more, visit Retail Disrupted.

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  25:21

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