Ria Chauhan, Beauty Buying Manager at Harvey Nichols shares how she got into beauty buying, the best parts of her job and the new arrivals she’s most excited about …
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How did you become a beauty buyer, and do you have any career advice for people interested in the job?
“I studied economics at university and joined a graduate training program with a large retailer. This eventually led me to The London College of Fashion to study Buying and Merchandising. However, the inspiration for going into buying really stemmed from working in retail stores from the age of 16; I loved seeing how customers shop, and always took note of what they liked and disliked. My advice for anyone who is interested in buying is to get as much practical experience in the category they are interested in and apply for admin roles. Usually a degree in business, fashion, or any related subject is a good way in.”
What does the job entail, and what are the best parts of it?
“A buyer’s role is to ensure that the right product selection is available for our customers, and it really is my favourite part of the job. At Harvey Nichols, we pride ourselves on our edit and so are constantly looking at what products and brands we carry and make sure that they are the best in their category. We always ensure that every brand we carry has been trialed, tested and is in the store for a reason. And if we surprise and delight our customers with what’s new and next, we know we’ve succeeded.”
How do you choose a new line to take on – what do you base your selection process on?
“We meet a lot of new brands which is always exciting, we do a lot of analysis through the year to see what gaps we may have, as well as study upcoming trends. When a new brand comes in to us we will assess the brand to see if it is suitable for our customer, we look at the packaging, formulation and whether the brand addresses a key need for our customer or a trend that we may be going after. If the brand is able to offer us a new launch or element of exclusivity to excite our customers, even better.”
What are some of the top-performing beauty items in Harvey Nichols Dublin this summer? And what are you excited about in store at the moment?
“Hourglass has some new stand-out products that are doing so well for us and they’re just beautiful. I’ve been using the Vanish Airbrush Pressed Powder [€66] and the Veil Hydrating skin tint, and they both give the most beautiful finish to my skin.
Sisley has also launched a new much-anticipated new hair product. Their Densifying Shampoo [€78] is designed to energise the scalp and also boost the hair fibre for stronger hair. Customers have responded incredibly well to this new addition to Sisley’s already much-loved hair range.”
With an eye on beauty trends for AW24, could you highlight your key buys for autumn?
“We are seeing lots of vanilla in fragrance this autumn, but it’s being interpreted in different and exciting ways to how it’s usually used as a note. We will have some interesting launches coming up which will highlight this, so watch this space. The healthy hair trend is an evolution of the “skinification of the scalp” trend that we’ve seen, and takes it further as we all focus on improved hair quality and growth. Also, the rise in skin barrier damage in recent years, due to applying too many active products to the face, has resulted in a trend on going back to basics and focusing on skin barrier repair and simpler skin regimes.”
