Garland & Garland Fashion co-founder and head of product Phoebes Garland gives Ragtrader readers an insight into her career and day-to-day.
What does your day-to-day look like?
I get up at 5am and have a shot of espresso before a 6am high intensity Pilates class. I then try and do 5 to 8km at Centennial Park after Pilates depending on time.
It is such a cliché, but it really sets your day up well.
Head back, have an alkalizing greens and protein shake and start working.
Emails in the morning. Liaising with suppliers, meetings via Zoom and in person.
Showing ranges to retailers, working with our suppliers overseas on production and ranges. Speaking to retailers or working on a consulting project.
Describe a highlight from your career.
When a brand has a strong sell-through, and retailers come back wanting more is exceptionally satisfying. It really motivates me.
Especially when you have convinced a retailer or a client to try something new they were reluctant about.
It really sets you up with a trusting relationship in business. Integrity and trust is important to us.
What challenges have you faced in your career? How did you overcome them?
The drought was brutal on our business.
We had retailers not placing indent orders and then stop buying in the Central West areas of NSW and it was dreadful.
Some of these retailers were big accounts. It was horrendous.
We also lost a couple of key brands during this period which also made it tough.
The retail sector was really struggling before COVID. We launched our GxG Collective brand, and it was incredible it really got us through this.
What opportunities is your business currently pursuing and why?
We are always looking at lifestyle brands and their categories to either do ourselves, or to bring into the agency.
It works exceptionally well in boutiques and lifestyle stores and is a strong point of difference from the chain stores, which the chain stores can never quite get right.
Lifestyle categories really reflects the Australian casual outdoor ethos and performs well at retail.
We also expanding our premium jewellery and our fine jewellery component and working and sourcing new suppliers.
What advice would you give to the next generation of women leaders?
Be kind and really support one another in business, we need each other. It can be a rough ride at times.
Don’t try and do everything. Outsource the mundane as much as possible, so you can concentrate working on the business not always in the business.
Always work with people who have speciality skill sets. I have a go to of people I rely on, and I am so grateful for their expertise. I couldn’t run my business without their advice and their skills.
Also try and manage emotion in business, particularly during difficult times or confrontation to avoid anxiety.
Compartmentalise things so you don’t spend too much time thinking about things that drain your energy and you don’t dwell on anything difficult.