Mar0peyq myalee sofield and adam obernik fraser hart

HOT 100 PREMIER BUYERS: Myalee & Adam, Fraser Hart

These two certainly have plenty to toast, and where better to do it than the rooftop bar above London’s One New Change, where one of Fraser Hart’s top-performing stores can be found.

Despite what Myalee Sofield describes as a “challenging start to the year”, the rapidly expanding retail group succeeded in posting a watch sales uplift in 2014, something she and junior buyer Adam Obernik played a major role in.

Over the past year, the duo has been focusing on tightening up the watch buying team, and the fruits of their labour are starting to emerge. “We now have a stronger watch team, which is enabling us to work more closely with specific stores and brands and allowing us better stock visibility and management,” says Sofield.

“It has given us even more to aim for in terms of maintaining our current brand line up and securing new brands and also reinforces our retail team’s focus on product training and providing the customer with a first-class sales experience.”

A new way of interacting with these customers has been by embracing social media, and Sofield says that collaboration between the company’s in-house watch experts and its marketing and social media team has done “a fabulous job driving additional footfall and interest”.

And once a nicely timed Tweet or behind-the-scenes shot on Instagram has got shoppers through the door, it is back to the buying team to make sure the products seen online are available to buy in store.

“Making sure that our hero models are always in stock has helped give a better stock turn and therefore creates a better cash flow for the company,” says Obernik, who is currently balancing watch buying with training for next year’s London Marathon.

“As we improve our efficiency as a buying team, we are getting better at analysing and forecasting the business requirements, resulting in a more profitable model overall.” We’ll certainly raise a glass to that.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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