Amy Nichols, our Junior Buyer, tells us about her role, which she describes as “always surrounded by amazing colours and designs!” and how loving imperfect yaks can help reduce fashion waste. Read her full interview on our blog!
1. What does your role as a Junior Buyer involve?
Buying is a really varied role which is why I love it. I’m involved in almost every aspect of the product development process from researching new trends to picking and approving prints and fabrics. I also work closely with our amazing garment technicians to make sure the products fit well and look great and obviously working at Lucy and Yak means I’m always surrounded by amazing colours and designs!
2. What are the key steps in managing a product from design to delivery?
The first step is range-building which is when we decide which designs go into the range for each season. We usually do this based on key trends and previous sales.
We work hard to ensure that every part of the product is thoroughly thought through and all fabrics, trims and prints for each garment are approved on time. We also work really closely with our amazing team in India who liaise with the factories at every step of the development process.
The final key step is checking a shipment sample to make sure we are happy with the finished product before it ships!
3. What types of pieces are considered an “Imperfect” Yak?
Throughout the product development process we check the overall quality of a garment but sometimes when a shipment arrives, a few garments may not meet our quality control standards. For example they might have broken stitches, marks on the fabric or measurement issues.
We don’t feel like garments with issues like these are fit for sale at full price so we sell them on our ‘Imperfect Yaks’ page for a reduced price. We always make sure the faults are clearly stated on our website so customers can decide if they’re happy to buy an ‘Imperfect’ Yak.
4. Why is it important to still preserve and sell “Imperfect” Yaks?
Waste is one of the biggest problems in the fashion industry and we’re very keen to reduce ours as much as possible! Lots of brands would dispose of faulty stock but we believe it still has value. Also despite the quality issues, we want to ensure our suppliers are paid for their work instead of us cancelling an order and leaving them out of pocket. Our customers are often tuned into this fairer way of working which is why they are happy to buy from our ‘Imperfect Yaks’ page.
We also offer a range of products made from our waste fabrics (from aprons to bucket hats) and we’re always looking for more ways to recycle and reuse. I think it’s really refreshing to work for a brand that takes waste-reduction so seriously!