S8 EP2 From shop floor lessons to commercial confidence with Dahlia Stroud

This week we’re joined by Dahlia Stroud, a retail and FMCG leader whose career spans Nestlé, Asda and Co-op, where she’s led commercial strategy, online trading and multiple buying teams (without ever officially holding the buyer title). Today she hosts Stressed But Well-Dressed, exploring the link between confidence, mindset and how we show up at work.

In this episode we go back to the start- field sales, Christmas aisles and learning retail the hard way and how those early experiences built the instincts she later used to lead teams and shape commercial decisions across categories from home to healthcare.

We talk about the moment online retail changed everything: why a profitable product on paper isn’t always profitable in reality, how customer behaviour differs by channel, and why great buyers have to understand the full journey not just the margin line. Dahlia shares how she influenced teams without authority, using insight and education to bring people with her rather than telling them what to do.

We also get into the human side of careers. Redundancy knocked her confidence and identity, and led to creating Stressed But Well-Dressed as a way to rebuild her voice, discovering along the way that everyone, even senior leaders, is figuring it out as they go. Confidence, she says, isn’t about knowing everything it’s about trusting you can work it out.

Along the way we cover trend moments that unexpectedly explode, why getting the basics right matters just as much as innovation, and the psychology behind why customers actually buy things in the first place.

Three key takeaways

1. The best commercial instincts are built on the shop floor
Those early, unglamorous roles teach you how retail actually works - customers, stores, operations and reality vs theory. That experience shapes stronger decisions later because you understand the impact beyond the numbers.

2. Buying isn’t just margin (yes we did say that) it’s the full operating model
Online retail forced a shift from product-level thinking to end-to-end thinking. Packaging, fulfilment, returns and behaviour all matter, and the strongest commercial teams are the ones who connect customer behaviour to financial outcomes.

3. Confidence drives progression more than job titles
Redundancy pushed Dahlia to rebuild her identity and voice- and reinforced a simple truth: everyone has doubt. The difference is backing yourself anyway. When you change your internal narrative, your external impact changes too.

Connect with Dahlia

Podcast: Stressed But Well-Dressed
Exploring the relationship between clothing, confidence, and mindset

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This week we are joined by Claire Ward- a senior product technologist. This episode is a particularly special one for us. Claire, Kate and Lyns all met right at the very beginning of our careers at Accessorize, learning the ropes of retail together so recording this felt like a real full-circle moment. We start by reminiscing about those early days before diving into the journey Claire has taken since, building an impressive career across some of the UK’s best-known fashion brands including Accessorize, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Mint Velvet and Hush.

Claire shares how she moved from being a creative student into the world of product technology and explains why the role is far more influential than many people realise. She lifts the lid on what a product technologist actually does day-to-day from fit, construction and fabric performance to safety testing, compliance and quality assurance and how they quietly protect both the customer and the business.

A particularly fascinating part of Claire’s journey came when she took a year out after Debenhams to work in Uganda with nonprofit organisation Acoa, which employed Ugandan women to produce jewellery and homeware for the US market. Hired as a product development manager, she quickly discovered she was the only person in the organisation with manufacturing or fashion experience and had to build the role from scratch. Acting as the bridge between US designers and the Ugandan production team, Claire created early samples, refined products for scalable production and introduced more efficient manufacturing methods. From visiting local markets to trace dye sources, to sourcing compliant suppliers in Kampala and investing in tooling for cowhorn craftsmen, the work was deeply hands-on and problem-solving led.

Claire talks honestly about why tech teams can sometimes be undervalued despite preventing costly mistakes, reducing returns and improving customer trust. Along the way she shares real-world stories from factories in India to Christmas decorations that accidentally became classified as toys, highlighting how problem-solving sits at the heart of the job.

Ultimately this episode is a reminder that behind every great product is a technologist making sure it works, lasts and is safe to sell — often without anyone ever knowing.

Three Key Takeaways

Product technologists are more than fit checkers. They bring expertise in fabric, manufacturing, construction and compliance that can save businesses significant money through reduced returns, improved consumption and stronger quality perception.

Involve tech from the beginning. The strongest products happen when technologists are part of development from day one, working alongside buyers and designers to prevent problems before they become costly mistakes.

Communication and respect are everything. Great buyer-tech partnerships rely on clear communication, mutual respect and understanding each other’s KPIs — when tech stays commercial and buyers listen to risk, everyone wins, especially the customer.

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This week’s episode is a big one and a conversation we’ve been really excited to share. We’re joined by Nick Lambert, Head of Circularity at Primark, whose career journey is a powerful example of how deep commercial experience can drive real, meaningful change in sustainability.

Nick started his career like many in retail working his way up through buying, beginning as a buying admin assistant at Arcadia (Topshop/Topman), before becoming a buyer and eventually moving to Primark nearly a decade ago. After 20 years in the industry, Nick made the transition from buying into sustainability, where he now leads Primark’s circular fashion strategy at scale.

What makes this conversation so compelling is Nick’s honesty about the realities of change in a fast-paced, commercial retail environment. He shares how Primark’s sustainability function has evolved, how circularity is being embedded into buying and design teams, and why progression over perfection is the only way forward when working at volume.

We dive into what circular design actually means in practice from hands-on co-creation workshops with buyers and designers, to the challenge (and success) of moving from 0% to 5% circular design in clothing in just two years. Nick also explains how material innovation plays a role, with 74% of Primark clothing now containing recycled or more sustainably sourced materials.

A big part of this episode focuses on people how to bring buying teams on the journey, make sustainability exciting rather than overwhelming, and balance commercial KPIs alongside long-term environmental goals. Nick shares why internal ambassadors are key, and how creativity and collaboration unlock far more progress than compliance ever could.

Finally, we look ahead. From upcoming EU legislation on eco-design, to the rise of pre-loved fashion and repair services, including Primark’s repair pilot with The Seam in Manchester, Nick gives a clear-eyed view of where circular retail is heading and why collaboration across the industry has never been more important.

This is a must-listen for buyers, designers, sustainability teams, and anyone curious about how big retailers can be part of the solution.

Three Key Takeaways

1) Scale Can Drive Real Impact

While fast fashion often faces criticism for volume, Nick shows how scale can be a force for good. From supporting 300,000 small-holder farmers through the Cotton Project to achieving 10% recycled cotton usage, large retailers have the power to drive meaningful change when sustainability is built into the system.

2) Sustainability Needs Commercial Allies

The biggest barrier to progress isn’t technical - it’s engagement. Embedding sustainability into buying teams means speaking their language, celebrating progress over perfection, and making change feel creative, achievable, and commercially relevant.

3) Collaboration Is Non-Negotiable

Sustainability is one area where competitors are choosing collaboration over secrecy. Working with organisations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Cotton Connect, and alongside brands such as H&M, Inditex, Ralph Lauren and Gucci, proves that shared challenges require shared solutions.

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