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Retailer Face To Face
It all started with a second-hand till, a small shop unit in Fulham and some watches and fashion accessories that a young entrepreneur called Oliver Tress had imported from Hong Kong. Fast forward a quarter of a century and Oliver Bonas has earned the hearts and pennies of the UK’s sisterhood as a lifestyle store group, with greeting cards very much part of its line up. PG went shopping with Natalia Kosterska, responsible for greeting card buying for the 77-store group.
‘Shake your tits, it’s your birthday’ a design by newbie publisher Lucy Maggie Designs, is currently the best selling everyday card in Oliver Bonas. For Natalia Kosterska, assistant buyer, who is responsible for all the card buying (as well as the wall art and books) in all Oliver Bonas stores, this one card epitomises not just the retailer’s customer, but the curated approach to its greeting card selection that is working so well. “Everything we do here starts with our customer,” says Natalia. “87% of our customers are female, over 40% of whom are Millennials. We know who she is, what is important to her and the lifestyle she leads. It is then my job that the card selection we offer exceeds her expectations,” she adds. As to some of the key attributes of the typical Oliver Bonas customer, Natalia reveals “she’s intelligent, confident, takes a great interest in the world around her, puts a high value on health, happiness and well-being, is style conscious and aware of trends, but picks and chooses what works for her.” As someone who herself exudes all of these attributes, and with a masters degree in art history adding to her aesthetic credentials, Natalia has grasped the opportunity to develop Oliver Bonas’ greeting card selection with stunning results. Natalia joined the buying team in August 2016, having previously worked for King and McGraw, who supplies Oliver
Above: The Oliver Bonas store in Leamington Spa opened in 2018. Left: The Lucy Maggie Designs card that is Oliver Bonas’ top everyday seller. Below right: Greeting cards are displayed in spinners and on wooden racks, some on the wall, others free-standing in Oliver Bonas. Bottom: Natalia Kosterska (centre) with Oliver Bonas colleagues Siobhain Watkins (left) and Rahael Pearson at PG Live in June.
Bonas with its wall art, but she did have some even more relevant knowledge. “When I was a student in Brighton, I used to work on the shopfloor in our store there. I also asked for work experience in the buying office which gave me an insight into what would be involved,” says Natalia. “I love it here, we are like a family. I am given freedom, butenjoy that I still get sign off from Olly [Tress, the managing director] if I want to introduce something new or take it in a different direction.” That breast tasseled card best seller from Lucy Maggie is a case in point, a publisher Natalia first came across at the
GCA Speed-dating with Dragons event in April and then saw again at PG Live. “Five years ago our greeting card selection was rather twee, full of pretty butterflies and flowers. Now, the designs that really work with our customers tend to be bold, cool statements that celebrate women empowerment, contemporary graphics, puns galore, some quirky animals and unexpected extras, such as pin badges or other attachments,” sums up Natalia. Working within the stores’ space constraints poses something of a challenge, but not an insurmountable one, thanks to the support of the shopfloor team.
Somewhat unusual for a group with 77 stores, there is no carbon copy uniformity within the store estate, with the layout, fascia branding and fixtures all being slightly different, all of which add to the feeling of being in an independent emporium. Extending this to the greeting card selection, which span spinners and wooden racks (wall and free-standing), to provide a wide selection and give the customer the PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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