Dan Ryan Lessons learnt and still learning from a life in retail Life Who am I? A Retailer From Cork Loud Laugh Retail My3 Journey Retail My experience . Retailer Manager . Retail Buyer . Retail Merchandiser . Trading Director . Head of Commercial Trading Experience Domestic & International . Ireland . UK . Spain . Netherlands . Canada 5 Penneys/Primark 1985 -1999 Trainee Merchandise Manager Controller How did that happen? Brown Thomas 1999 - 2006 Merchandise Controller From ridiculous prices at Primark To sublime prices at BT From private label at Primark To Global Brands at BT Penneys/Primark 2006 - 2008 Re-joined as Director of Merchandising Why go back? Primark comes to Spain Expanding into new markets . The budget fashion chain opened it’s first store outside the UK & Ireland . 1st store in a new shopping centre in Madrid 2006 . Primark executives say they chose Spain as the launching point for a European expansion because Spanish consumer patterns are similar to those of Ireland. 5/23/2019 ADD A FOOTER Lifestyle Sports 2008 - 2012 Appointed to the Board as Trading Director SPORTS RETAIL Fantastic Combination - love Sports & love Retail 2008 Financial Crash What do we do? . Devised 5 Year Strategy . Restructured Buying and Merchandising Team . What categories are we going to be famous for? . Closed loss making stores/opened new stores . Refurbished existing stores Shop Direct Group, Liverpool 2012 - 2013 From Bricks to Clicks Shop Direct Group . A merger of once bitter rivals Littlewoods and Great Universal Stores . Based in Liverpool . Legacy of home catalogue shopping . Restructured . Now trading online only : Littlewoods , Very 5/23/2019 ADD A FOOTER Selfridges Group 2013 - 2019 Renewing old acquaintances Pastures New – The Netherlands & Canada de Bijenkorf More change . Worked 5 years in the Netherlands . Interim Chief Merchandise Officer . Learnt to speak Dutch . Supported strategy to transform to a premium department store chain Drie Dwaze Dagen – 3 Day Crazy Sale Abandons it’s Sale Concept no longer Luxury Shopping Premium shopping is “Drie Dwaze Dagen” fits into it’s image Experience the focus! Brown Thomas / Arnotts Integration . Weston buys Arnotts in 2015 . Integration process with Brown Thomas begins . Appointed interim Buying Director BTA Homewares 2018 . BTA Buying Teams integrated October 2018 5/23/2019 17 ADD A FOOTER E-Commerce Why is it winning? . Bricks no longer own “ a place to buy ” . Mobile is the worlds biggest vending machine . Bricks must shift their consideration, conversation and purpose to “a place to BE” Consumers of today 82% 76% 33% Consult their phones Do not like asking for Purchased a different brand while in store before assistance while because of information making a purchase shopping in store provided in the moment Consumers Which Which Brand? Shade? Suitable Skin Type? What do my friends think? Is it any good? How do I use it? Thanks and any questions????.