This Friday we interview James Crabtree, Head of Fashion at AIS (Associated Independent Stores). Anyone who has the pleasure to meet and chat with James will realise his commitment to retailing in the independent sector but much more than this, his genuine feelings and passion for the industry he was ‘born’ to be involved in. Well dressed (coming from a menswear background), professional and articulate Underlines finds out more about his pivotal role in AIS and future plans.
James Crabtree, Head of Fashion AIS
Your background prior to working at AIS?
I started my career with Ponden Mill who had a selection of Mill Retail Units in the North of England, this was my first real introduction to Retail. Whilst there I had the opportunity to join one of the brands stocked at Ponden Mill, namely Wolsey.
Working for Wolsey really opened my eyes to the wider retail world. My initial role was to manage the concession accounts across the North of England, Scotland and Ireland, through this role I learnt very quickly the secret to growing the business was to develop strong professional relationships with the people in the stores, especially the guys on the shop floor. I progressed at Wolsey to Wholesale Manager for the same territory which introduced me to the world of independent retailers and agents, both required different ways of working and different skills of engaging with people.
Why the world of fashion?
With Wolsey giving me a strong background in Menswear, that was my starting point with AIS, working with the members to develop their brand and product offering. During my initial time at AIS I have been very fortunate to diversify my career across retail operations, visual merchandising, space planning, brand buying, product development, trade shows and everything else in between. Each has presented different challenges and opportunities, meaning that whilst I have been at AIS for a very long time in retail terms my roles have been as diverse as I could have wished for.
Your sectors of responsibility at AIS?
AIS, as a leading buying, services and events group in UK and Ireland has a very clear ambition to ensure everything we do is about delivering commercial success for our members. Our purpose is to help independent retail thrive.
As Head of Fashion I have four clear areas of focus:
1.Overseeing a relevant, bespoke supplier network for our members. We supply the connectivity between supplier and retailer and strive to provide our members with brands they need. Those brands can be those that can offer points of difference, those that bring newness, or core brands that deliver on margin.
2. Being there for our members. The fashion team and I offer support, advice and services to help them to succeed. Whether that’s arranging fashion trends and insight presentations from global consultancies, store visits to discuss ranges and refresh, or running strategy meetings with members to better understand their needs and wants for future seasons.
3. INDX Show curator. We say our INDX shows are by buyers for buyers and working with the events team to deliver successful shows for visitors, members and exhibitors play an important part of my role. The INDX tradeshow portfolio has gone from strength-to-strength post-Covid.
4. Leadership and support for the team. I love nothing better than being part of a team, I am very lucky to work with people I respect and can draw inspiration from.
Trials, tribulations and triumphs in your working life? What do you most enjoy about your work?
My absolute love about working within independent retail and, especially fashion, is being able to witness the entrepreneurial ambition and success that drives the independent sector – I have the privilege of being part of this on a day-to-day basis.
Many of our AIS members and visitors to our INDX shows are a family run business with many of them having been around for many generations – multiples have come and go but independents are still going.
The ‘challenge’ of working with a broad and eclectic mix of members is that every member runs their own business in their own way, and so there is an expertise required by the AIS team to really understand each one of our members to enable them to use our services in the most efficient way to drive commercial success; whether that’s rebate and discount management, negotiating member exclusives, supporting in range planning or new store openings.
A typical week?
No week is the same and that’s what I love, I thrive on diversity within my working week.
I would generally be in the office Mondays and Tuesdays covering all key meetings from Team, Trading, SLT, INDX and any Face-to-Face internal meetings.
Wednesdays and Thursdays I would generally be out of the office. This could be visiting suppliers, which may be new discussions or with existing partner brands, discussing membership interaction, brand development or INDX trade show attendance.
As a great example we recently held a Fashion Strategy Meeting with our members at the Bestseller Group Showroom in London to work on all these points.
If not with our suppliers I would be with our lovely members, looking at how they are performing and discussing what opportunities there could be to develop their business e.g. reviewing brands that are performing well or retail initiatives that other retailers have taken and generally discussing how trade is and giving a supportive outside view.
Whom do you admire in the fashion industry?
I have been in the fortunate position to meet lots of inspirational, driven and remarkable people through my career at AIS. Although not from the Intimate Apparel Industry, my mentor at AIS – Richard Ireland taught me just about all I needed to know about how to work with our members to help them grow their businesses.
Since my world has broadened into the fabulous world of Intimate Apparel, I’ve really been taken aback by the people I’ve worked with and just how welcoming, knowledgeable and passionate about this industry they are.
Lizzie at Triumph has really helped my understanding of the business and how a key brand works with our members, and I have greatly admired how Mark at Cyberjammies has developed and grown that business. Equally and without sounding too sycophantic, Pamela at Underlines, has been a constant source of encouragement, support and inspiration.
July 2024 campaign for Indx Intimate Apparel
What plans have you for the AIS shows most particularly the Intimate Apparel Event? Any other ambitions for the shows?
Without doubt INDX IA remains the national show for intimate apparel attracting both independents and multiples – our focus is to ensure that we create an offer and environment suitable for the vast amount of retailers and retailer types across the entirety of the UK and beyond. Capital city shows, whilst high profile and attractive, don’t always offer the depth of offer that the eclectic IA retailer sector demands. We know buyers are time poor so our aim is to cover all bases and to be a practical as possible.
I love it that the INDX show, apart from the Star Awards is the biggest dedicated venue for suppliers and buyers just to get together, to catch up and candidly discuss the business. There are several on-site events planned to span the 3 days, such as Retail Insights expert panel discussion and networking drinks events.
This year, the show also coincides with the AIS Fashion Members Summer Soiree –with over 100 fashion members expected to attend the evening get together as well as spending some time at the show.
Work is also underway with future developments for all our INDX shows and we currently have some exciting projects underway including a brand refresh and to exhibition investments.
Proudest moment to date?
From a career perspective, launching an AIS Premium Menswear Brand in less than six months, achieving retail forward orders of over £1m. The brand was James Aubrey and we focused on British manufacturing and high margin. The initial success was so much more than we could have expected, gaining inroads into all of our key member stores.
From a personal point of view, it’s a predictable answer but very true I’m afraid. My family are everything to me, I’m very proud that my wife has put up with me for over 20 years and we’ve raised two beautiful daughters, inside and out.
Your greatest challenge?
Every week has new challenges in Retail, my greatest challenge is the same for all of us that work in Independent Retail, ensuring the great British public continue to support their high street. We do all we can to provide the members with the best products and service, the members do all they can to curate the best brand selections, create a beautiful environment and offer exceptional service, yet the challenge for that to be seen of value continues.
Biggest regret if you have one?
I’m a huge Liverpool FC fan, so I’m still dealing with the trauma of Mr Klopp leaving our great club and the situation we are now in! Generally, I try not to have regrets, simply to learn from what has not come to fruition. That said, I would have liked to have lived abroad and learnt a foreign language whilst I was younger, the pay off of what I have done so far seems to balance ok with me.
Time out?
Family and friends. I love being outside, I have a dear group of friends I have known since our hell-raising late teens. These days we enjoy a good walk, we’ve recently scaled Scar Fell Pike, followed a good food and a beer or two. My wife and I will be out with the girls on our bikes, walking or camping through the summer, we are selfishly squeezing in as much as possible whilst they are still young.
Pet Hate?
Lying, there really is no need. Even bad news is better.
