Elizabeth Rae

Consulting for fashion and lifestyle brands, advising on brand growth strategies, product selection, trading strategies and best-in-class buying practices. I help brands refine and commercialise translating creative identity and brand DNA into commercially successful assortments. I bring a 360° understanding of how to build and scale a brand while staying true to its ethos, optimising margin and sell-through and shaping an end-to-end offer that resonates across all channels.

Led the strategy for John Lewis's 'Own Brands,' driving growth through a buying-led approach to market positioning and a long-term strategy to enhance brand visibility and customer engagement

Owned and led all commercial activities, buying and brand management for a dynamic startup marketplace (financially backed by ITV) targeting Gen Z, developing a diverse portfolio across fashion, lifestyle, and wellness categories.

Spearheaded the first full-price private label division at YNAP with a strong emphasis on strategic buying, driving growth through curated product selection and strengthened supplier partnerships. Led the end-to-end buying process, including commercial strategy, product development, supplier negotiations, product buying/selection and ensuring timely launches to achieve optimal market positioning. Collaborated closely with design, marketing and PR teams to align buying strategies with business goals, ensuring seamless execution and commercial success.

Served as a strategic consultant at Albam, providing critical insight and clarity across the business following a round of corporate investment by Four Marketing and Frasers Group. Successfully integrated Buying, Merchandising, PR, Marketing and Digital functions to align with the new buying and business strategy, ensuring brand consistency and driving commercial growth under the refreshed approach.

Led the buying team for the debut menswear collection at Jane Shepherdson’s Whistles, shaping the product and pricing architecture through strategic buying decisions and managing the full product development cycle. Drove cross-functional collaboration with marketing and PR teams to launch and trade the collection successfully, ensuring a cohesive and impactful market introduction.

Led the buying, curation and selection of the PS and Jeans collections, managing store allocations and overseeing the quantification and sizing strategy for Paul Smith’s 26 retail locations across the UK and Europe, including the eCommerce platform

Collaborated with the founders of Albam Clothing during its expansion, establishing and leading all buying functions, driving brand development and marketing across retail and wholesale operations. Led product buying for stores and eCommerce, negotiated trade terms for branded products and oversaw visual merchandising to ensure cohesive brand representation.

Buying, merchandising and production experience gained within the head office of a fashion retailer with 500+ stores.