What do beauty buyers really want? Decoding retail success with Catherine Bossom

Have you ever wondered what really goes on when a beauty brand
tries to score a spot onto the hallowed shelves of Harrods or
Space NK? Catherine Bossom has not only had a front-row seat,
she’s also played a starring role. From her early days as a
graduate trainee at Harrods, to senior buying positions at Space
NK and Selfridges, she has spent twenty years in the thick of
luxury beauty retail — and has lived to tell the tale.


Now, as the guiding spirit behind her consultancy, Yellow
Flamingo, Catherine helps bewildered founders untangle the riddle
of what buyers actually want (hint: not what you imagine). In
this conversation, we chat about how a brand’s story is often far
more seductive than the quality of its product line, that
personal connections are massively overrated, and the brutal
reality of what retail can and can't do for your sales figures.


From the days when buyers had to physically cross continents in
search of the next great discovery, to today’s overcrowded
marketplace where every buyer is positively snowed under with
pitches, Catherine offers an insider’s view — witty, unsparing,
and utterly invaluable to anyone tempted to storm the beauty
shelves. We also talk about Catherine's own business journey and
how a family tragedy spurred her on to take the road less
travelled.


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