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Nadia Dhouib Boussabah

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Nadia Dhouib Boussabah

The Role of the Fashion Buyer between Physical and Digital & the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées Project
14 March 2022
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A career in Buying that began 15 years ago: Nadia Dhouib Boussabah, Buyer, Founder & Managing Director of RethinkRetail Advisory works today with some of the most prestigious brands in the world of Fashion Retail.

Nadia Dhouib met Istituto Marangoni Paris Master Students of Fashion & Luxury Brand Management and Fashion Buying Merchandising during an exclusive masterclass, explaining what it means to be a Buyer today, and what were the fundamental steps in her professional career, starting from her most important project: the opening of Galeries Lafayette at number 60 of the Champs-Élysées in Paris in 2019.

What were the peculiar aspects that characterized the opening of Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées?
The Champs-Élysées project focused above all on finding the right tone of voice, our uniqueness. We wanted the audience to experience a different Customer Journey, without forgetting the location’s history, which was the starting point of the architectural project and concept.

The role of the Seller is essential in the Buying Experience: with Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées you have defined retailers as “personal stylists”: why this choice?
Often when a customer goes to a shop or a department store, he does not perceive the uniqueness of the service: the seller must be able to provide exceptional customization and advice. For this reason we did not want to limit ourselves to the concept of "salesmen" but we tried to provide real personal stylists, able to advise and provide tailor-made advice.

You have always looked for a strong innovation in the concept and in the project. In which way the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées Customer Experience was revolutionary?
We didn't want a traditional customer approach; we provided iPads to our "personal stylists", the ability to provide assistance on Whatsapp, thus seeking an increasingly hybrid sale format, between physical and digital.
We also conceived the management of Visual Merchandising and spaces in a different way, starting from the ground floor, which generically in mega-stores is dedicated to accessories: instead we wanted to make it a space to host brands, special and temporary events.

A project therefore that seemed to start from a "blank canvas": what does it mean today to create a new Retail experience from scratch?
First of all, it is necessary to start from the concrete fundamental bases: in my case, I had a budget, an idea and an architect. I started doing about 40/50 interviews with different sellers: what did they think was missing in the shopping experience? Why did some types of styles like streetwear weren’t selling enough?
So I started step by step from the elements I owned and knew. I negotiated with the brands; my role was not just to contact them, I had to be able to sell a real "dream": brands today have many selling options so you have to understand what their points of interest are in order to let them collaborate with you.
What we focused on, in this case, were not purely financial reasons but to convey to the brands the potential in the positionning and image of our project. 

Let’s switch now to your career as a Buyer: what are the things you are most proud of today? Particularly considering this project.
We created something completely different. We had many emerging brands, which the public was able to discover for the first time, we worked with names like Jacquemus, Rouje, La Veste... one of the aspects of emerging brands to consider is that they often bring on board an entire Community, digitally and physically.
I remember one day I met a customer who told me "I feel like when I shop online!" because the experience we provided was complete: not just sales but a space of activation and storytelling.
Certainly there have been, as in every new project, some difficulties. For example, some Customers felt a bit lost, perhaps because of this innovation: it is also essential, however, to focus on Change Management, and not get stuck in front of changes, because Customers are constantly evolving, this is something that we always must keep in mind when we deal with Sales.

Can you tell us more about being a Woman with a job position like yours?
I think that as a woman, the fundamental elements to keep in mind are Passion, Consistency, keeping your point of view strong even when things get difficult, having a strong team working with you, people you can rely on.

What are the professional Skills that you would recommend to an aspiring Buyer or to those who would like to work in the world of Retail and Visual Merchandising?
Do not necessarily aim for the concept of Luxury or a prestigious position, but above all to understand the job.
Being fashion oriented but not a fashion victim: it is important to have a certain sensitivity to understand the potential of brands but not be a victim of trends.
Buying is creating, bringing brands to a process of acceleration, it is a process of construction and creation. Furthermore, it is essential to keep a certain distance from the brands you select, because sometimes you would like to give visibility to brands that you particularly love, but at work it is necessary to promote brands that are not necessary to your taste.

How do you see the future of Retail and Buying ?
At the beginning of the pandemic, the "physical" was thought to be dead. But then the Brands felt the need to get closer to the public. There definitely has to be a hybrid sales model, a digital skeleton, you should work on a horizontal model. Digital brings independence, but Physical tells a story.

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