An interview with Mary Queen of Shops

Business Link interviews Mary Portas following her successful and inspirational speech at the Business Link networking event in Hull, May 19th 2009.

Mary Portas is a journalist and television presenter and one of the UK’s foremost authorities on retail and brand communication.

After college, Mary worked for Harrods where she was responsible for window displays for about three years before joining TopShop as display manager where she was spotted by Burton Group chairman Sir Ralph Halpern.

Mary is credited with turning Harvey Nichols into the modern fashion powerhouse that it is today and joined the company board before the age of 30. While there, she created the Harvey Nichols show windows that became part of the guided tours of London. She then became founder and creative director of Yellowdoor, a retail communications agency advising clients in fashion, retail, and beauty brands on PR and marketing.

Mary presents the BBC’s successful Mary Queen of Shops series where she troubleshoots her way around a number of ailing shops, aiming to help the owners revitalise their business. She teaches owners from around the country that the golden rule of retailing applies to everyone from international high street brands to the independent shopkeeper: ‘know your customer’, or as Mary would say ‘know your tribe’!