Flaming hot talent

For the hottest talent in retailing, the UK’s leading retailing businesses turn to

court & spark consulting, the specialist search company for the retail sector.

We’re all former retail professionals with industry experience, so we’re well placed to help our

clients secure the talent they need to within Buying, Merchandising, Retail Operations and

Senior Executive roles.

Since court & spark was founded in 2004 we’ve always valued the strong industry relationships

we hold and we are trusted by senior retail executives as good consultants to do business with.

As a boutique agency, we’re able to invest time with our clients and our candidates to ensure

that we know the role and individual skill sets of every person we work with. And we’re not

apologetic for doing business the old fashioned way - building relationships and searching for

candidates that specifically meet the brief by using our extensive contacts and candidate

profiles.

We don’t broadcast the exciting and high profile executive

searches we handle, because it’s important that clients and

candidates know they can trust us for absolute discretion around

commercially sensitive retailing positions.

Fast facts about court & spark

In response to our growing client activity we have recently structured the business into six practice areas, reflecting our own individual career experience, contacts and skills.

UK & International Retail Operations

With court & spark originally founded by two former Retail Operations Directors, our UK & International Retail Operations Practice has an extensive track record providing retailers with experienced retail operators. We’ve worked with brands across a variety of sectors, including fashion, home, technology, lifestyle and pharmacy for UK and international retailers, placing Head of Retail, Retail Directors, Regional Controllers, Area Managers and Store Managers. Over the years we’ve worked with some of the top names in retailing including Top Shop, New Look, Oasis, Republic, Dwell, BHS, Gap, Dorothy Perkins, House of Fraser, Harrods, Burberry, Ghost, Fenn Wright Manson, White Stuff and many more.

Head Office Practice

Demand and repeat briefings from our clients have enabled the Head Office Practice team to grow from its original core focus of handling Buying and Merchandising appointments to now handle searches for retail clients across the whole range of head office functions, including design, technical services, projects managers, logistics and supply chain. The Head Office Practice team has recently handled assignments for Banana Republic, White Stuff, Cath Kidston, Joules, Debenhams and Gap as well as confidential work for an international technology retailer.

HR Practice

Our HR Practice has been specifically developed on the back of our growing relationships with retail sector HR Directors. Claire Beasley heads up this practice and can draw on her own experience from her time as Head of Retail HR at Arcadia to help retailers find the right HR executives to meet their needs. We’ve recently placed the Global HR Director at an international fashion retailer, the HR Director at Hallett Retail as well as undertaking some confidential work for an international technology retailer.

Main Board Practice

The Main Board Practice handles executive search for the most senior corporate executives within retail, including Chairman, Non-Executive Directors, Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Finance Director, Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Recent appointments include CEOs for a City Law Practice, a Leisure chain and a Market research organisation.

E-commerce Practice

court & spark's brand new E-commerce Practice officially launches in Q4 2012 and is headed up by e-tail specialist Kate Hills who has been operating in the fashion and retail sector for over 20 years. Her career experience working as a fashion designer, entrepreneur and buyer for businesses that have included Burberry, Levi’s and Marks & Spencer has been reinforced with specialist E-commerce knowledge developed through study on the UK’s first Masters Degree in Internet Retailing run by Manchester Metropolitan University.

Mapping & Research Practice

The Mapping & Research Practice works with clients to support their teams in identifying great people. Projects are varied and can range from name gathering to engaging with candidates and managing the first stage of the selection process. Additionally the Practice team also manages market intelligence projects to supply clients with insight on organisation structure, job titles and salaries offered by other UK and international retailers.

Our Practice areas

Retail Head Office placements which we are able to disclose include:

Executive

A/Wear Interim Merchandise Director

Cath Kidston Buying & Design Director

Dwell Buying & Merchandise Director

Gap Buying Director

Hallett Retail Buying Director

White Stuff Buying & Design Director

White Stuff Interim Merchandise Director

Senior & Middle Management

Banana Republic Buying Manager

Burberry Emerging Markets Manager

Cath Kidston Head of Buying

Cath Kidston Merchandiser

Debenhams Senior Merchandisers

Debenhams Senior Buyers- Womenswear

First Friday Buying & Merchandising Consultants

Gap Merchandise Planning Managers

Gap Buyers

Gap EMEA Marketing Manager

Gap Project Manager New Business

Ghost Head of Merchandising

Hallett Retail Product Manager

Kurt Geiger Senior Merchandiser

Long Tall Sally Buyer

M&Co Head of Buying

M&Co Buyers (Womens & Kidswear)

M&Co Merchandisers

Phase 8 Senior Buyer

The White Company Head of Buying

True Religion Merchandise Manager

True Religion Visual Merchandise Manager

White Stuff Head of Customer Services

White Stuff Interim Head of a technical Services

White Stuff Senior Footwear Buyer

Our track record: Retail Head Office roles

Retail Operations

AS Watson Healthcare Director

BHS Store Director

Dwell Retail Director

Hallett Retail Retail Director

Hallett Retail Regional Controller

House of Fraser Store Managers

House of Fraser Regional Directors

Joules Area Managers

Lloydspharmacy Regional Director

New Look Senior Ops Manager

New Look Regional Controller

Phase 8 Head of Retail

Polo Ralph Lauren Director Real Estate

Oasis International Retail Director

Republic Regional Controller

Space NK Retail Director

Topshop Central Ops Manager

TK Maxx District Manager

Top Shop Head of Retail

Top Shop Regional Controller

Whistles Senior Regional Manager

White Stuff Head of Shops

HR & Main Board

Amazon HR Manager Germany

Cath Kidston HR Manager

Gap Finance Director – Intl

Hallett Retail Financial Controller

Hallett Retail HR Director

International Fashion Retailer Global HR Director

Leisure Chain CEO

Market Research Organisation CEO

Zizzi Recruitment Manager

Our track record: Retail Operations & HR

Our approach

Our candidate sourcing strategy is dependent upon the client brief and the bespoke needs of the assignment. However there are a number of tools we use to ensure our executive search process sources the candidates which offer the strongest match to the brief

Our Mapping & Research Practice is a real asset within our search process as we are able to tap into high quality market intelligence to source candidates who may not be currently on the market

Our industry contacts are our strongest asset, and by working our network which has been built through a combined 75 years of retail experience we can access talent across all retailing disciplines and at all levels

Our database holds around 3500 industry contacts. This includes candidates off the current radar and also those with relevant experience but perhaps not widely known in the market place

From time to time, where our database and current candidate profiles don’t meet a client’s specific requirements we also use careers channels such as Retail Choice, The Appointment, Linkedin and Drapers Jobs to source candidates and promote specific opportunities

Our network is your network

We invest a lot of time and energy supporting industry events, awards and professional networks, including the British Retail Consortium, Retail Week Awards, everywoman in Retail Awards and Retail Trust

We believe that meeting people face to face is essential in order to gain a really good understanding of a candidate’s professional and personal attributes. When we talk to a client we can provide you with an honest appraisal of a candidate’s background because we have met them, sometimes a number of times across their career, so we really understand what makes them tick and what they are looking for in their next role.

Sourcing candidates

court & spark was founded by former senior retail executives Claire Beasley and Pauline Wood who collectively have over fifty years retail sector experience with prior roles at Marks & Spencer, Burton Group, Arcadia Group, New Look, SF Cody and Laura Ashley. They launched court & spark to provide a different way for retailers to find senior talent, combining retail sector knowledge and industry experience with a bespoke service to handle senior retail executive search assignments. This approach has helped court & spark to develop lasting and strong relationships amongst an impressive retailer client base and business growth has enabled the development of six specialist Practice teams to provide retailers with specialist knowledge across the retailing spectrum. Supporting Claire and Pauline on the court & spark board is retail entrepreneur Michael Hobbs.

Claire Beasley

Founder & Joint MD Retail Operations & HR Practice cb@courtandsparkconsulting.co.uk / 07901 716657 With over 25 years retail industry experience Claire has operated within a range of retail businesses, including M&S, Burton Group, Arcadia, Laura Ashley, Sears and New Look reaching the senior ranks in her role as Retail Operations Director. As her retail career has developed Claire experienced a range of achievements, beginning with securing a place on M&S’ Management training programme, three year’s experience working internationally in the US, completing an MBA from Henley Management College and contributing to the work of Retail Trust as a trustee.

Pauline Wood

Founder & Joint MD Retail Operations Practice pw@courtandsparkconsulting.com / 07799 674860 Pauline’s 30 year career history has seen her rise through the ranks from shop floor through to board level as a Retail Operations Director, with roles at Laura Ashley, SF Cody, Past Times, Ocean Furniture and Hawkshead clothing in the UK and USA. Pauline’s considerable industry experience provides clients and candidates with a retail professional who really understands the roles and relationships, based on first hand, personal experience

Michael Hobbs Chairman

Michael has spent over 30 years operating within the retail sector in roles with H&M, Burtons, Laura Ashley, Sears Group, Mountain Warehouse and spent 9 years as the CEO of Adams Childrenswear where he successfully led an MBO, doubling profits in three years and delivering significant shareholder value. Michael is now using his considerable retail industry experience, and network, to act as Chairman of the court & spark board, in addition his other commercial ventures which includes his Italian lifestyle business Appassionata.

The court & spark team:

Executive Leadership

Sue Willis Director Head Office Practice sw@courtandsparkconsulting.com 07951 023921

Tania Ali

Senior Partner Head Office Practice

ta@courtandsparkconsulting.com 07944 198711

Sue’s retail career started as Graduate Trainee with BHS, followed by roles at The Burton Group handling resourcing within Dorothy Perkins, Principles and Racing Green businesses. Sue moved into consultancy and now has ten years’ experience building her candidate and client base across buying, merchandising, retail operations and HR. At court & spark Sue heads up our Head Office Practice handling senior roles for a number of niche and global retailers.

Tania has extensive experience working within the retail sector, working with blue-chip, high street and independent brands to source high quality candidates to meet their resourcing needs. She specialises in handling Buying & Merchandising roles, although experience of working with retailers across all disciplines including retail operations, design and technical roles provides Tania with a well-rounded view of the market.

Kate Hills

Director E-commerce Practice kh@courtandsparkconsulting.com 07753 678146

Fiona Davidson Director

Main Board Practice fd@courtandsparkconsulting.com

07768 495556

Kate Hills has been operating in the fashion and retail sector for over 20 years with roles at Burberry, Levi’s and Marks & Spencer operating in design, buying and commercial roles. Kate has developed her specialist E-commerce expertise through studying on the UK’s first Masters Degree in Internet Retailing run by Manchester Metropolitan University in conjunction with Econsultancy. Kate has an enviable E-commerce contacts book enabling her to support clients in the fast moving ecommerce sector, from web to marketing to supply chain management and logistics.

Fiona Davidson has a wealth of experience handling senior executive search within the retail sector and across a variety of other industries including consumer goods, healthcare, finance and professional services. Her experience working across a variety of sectors is particularly valuable for court & spark’s clients who wish to access experienced business operators from outside the retail environment in order to ensure their corporate boards benefits from a broad range of business experience and background.

Ruth Miller

Director Mapping & Research Practice rm@courtandsparkconsulting.com 07887 801377

Ruth has nearly 20 years experience in recruitment, having worked in senior roles within the HR teams in retail businesses such as Debenhams and Dixons Retail, and prior to that as a headhunter. Prior roles have ranged from operational, where Ruth managed large teams, and strategic ones driving through the implementation of direct hiring models and developing effective employer attraction and selection toolkits.

The court & spark team:

Key contacts

We don’t broadcast the exciting and high profile executive searches we handle, because it’s

important that clients and candidates know they can trust us for absolute discretion around

commercially sensitive retailing positions. But we're proud to share some of the great feedback

and ‘plugs’ court & spark has had from happy clients and candidates.

Don’t just take our word for it

Client and Candidate testimonials from assignments handled across all court & spark Practices

Don’t just take our word for it

If we’ve sparked a few ideas today on how we can further support your resourcing activity we

hope you’ll stay in touch.

You can find us online, at Retail industry events, on linkedin, twitter, facebook and read our

latest news in our quarterly newsletter ‘holding court’.

Thanks for finding out a little bit more about court & spark consulting, it was nice to meet you

too.

Spark a relationship with us