August 22, 2013

Buyer ID: 833

Industry experience: 14 years

Retailer experience: Mass Merch Stores, Dollar Stores

Primary decision-making authority: Yes.

Product Category experience: Personal Care, Beauty, Home, Holiday, Baby.

Favorite color: Orange

Favorite print/pattern: I love chevron. I know, it’s so trendy.

Who would you give the Product of the Year award to? It’s not a consumable product in the traditional sense, but I recently had Blockheads Snow Cream in LA and I can’t get it off my mind. http://www.blockheadsla.com/ Package this stuff up in a box for the freezer aisle, and I’ll make sure it gets into stores!

Why did you join the Buyerly Buyer Panel? To get the first glimpse at new product launches. And I enjoy helping small companies.

What is your favorite store to shop at? I love Anthropologie. It’s such a treasure hunt – and full of surprises. Their merchandise displays are gorgeous and the products so unique but not to far out there. Fred Segal is fun for similar reasons. I enjoy wandering through their different boutiques-within-a-boutique.

What advice do you have for the consumer companies on Buyerly? We [retail buyers] want to see products that are new and different. It doesn’t have to be completely groundbreaking. It can be as simple as a reinvention of something already ubiquitous. It just has to offer features or benefits you can’t get elsewhere. And you must MUST provide an explanation for how your company can deliver those unique features and benefits better than anyone else. And your plans to prevent copycats from introducing something similar.

Favorite holiday season: Halloween! I love dressing up…my dog!