Anna Berry – former head of buying for gifts, cook and dine at John Lewis – and Elaine Hooper – former cookshop buyer – have joined forces with two other former colleagues (Sara Allbright and Neil Amer) for the successful launch of Retail100 consultancy.
The team share a century of retail experience, including roles as head of buying, senior buyers and senior merchandiser across homeware, gifting, seasonal and beauty at the John Lewis Partnership.
Retail100’s approach is to focus on six key areas within a retail business – strategy; buying; merchandising; retailer insight and retail navigation; coaching, training and culture; and tools and toolkits – with each of the founders bringing their key skills to the mix.
Anna has been in retail for more than 33 years and is also skilled in mentoring and interviewing at senior level as well as having been JL’s lead on diversity and inclusion, and in supplier management.
Having started in retail straight from school, Elaine’s 36 years in the business have given her exceptional customer-facing skills while categories and roles covered include space planning, project proposition lead, private label and major brand development.
Top: The Retail100 co-founders and directors, from left to right: Neil Amer, Sara Allbright, Elaine Hooper and Anna Berry.