Skew's Haul Masterclass | An Interview with Jade Ferguson

TL:DR Skew’s retail masterclass attendee, Jade Ferguson U.K. Licensing Manager at Magic Light Pictures, sits down with us to talk about her experience at Spring Haul. ""

Twice a year Skew hosts a retail masterclass, Spring Haul and Autumn Haul, these one-day workshops are designed for licensing professionals to crack a particular challenge. At this bespoke event participants receive one-on-one coaching from our expert team. We start the day with a macro-trend presentation setting the scene for the day followed by a curated comp. shop around London. After our retail route, we reunite as a group for an insights workshop where all attendees are guided by Skew’s team to organise their research and draw actionable conclusions. By the end of the day, challenges have been cracked, thousands of steps have been done and a week’s worth of research has been crafted into a cohesive plan.

To showcase what it’s like to attend Skew’s haul event, we sat down with Jade Ferguson, U.K Licensing Manager at Magic Light Pictures, to hear about her experience.

Hey Jade 👋 thanks for joining us for Spring Haul! Let’s jump right in, what has been your main takeaway from Skew’s haul event?

When looking at brands in licensing during comp. shops you can get so caught up and narrowed down into a box, solely looking at brands that directly align with your own. Whereas today, Skew got us looking outside that box. We looked at brands we hadn’t considered before, different gender categories and customer groups. This has led us to a new perspective on our project. My main takeaway from the day is that when you narrow your research, like we have done previously, you’re missing the bigger picture. A lot of trends apply and filter down to kidswear and Skew helped us use that to our advantage during our retail route.

That’s great, I’m glad Skew has provided a new perspective. Who would you recommend Skew’s haul event to?

I would recommend designers, account managers and anyone that has contact with the retail buyer or brand to attend. Also anyone involved in the design process or product development at any point in the cycle would greatly benefit from the day. Today we also considered the implications of the cost of living crisis and sustainability within retail and fast fashion, so any roles connected to this would also get a lot from haul. These factors really impact how you work with retailers, buyers and brands.

Fab! Moving onto our final question, how has Skew’s haul masterclass helped with your brand challenge?

Skew’s haul event has helped us by giving us an expert outside perspective on our challenge. We’ve spent the day exploring different brands and different artwork styles outside fellow literacy brands. We’ve looked at larger market trends and different categories. The day has also focused on the issues we’re having with gender boundaries, and how to use our brand assets in new and fresh ways. We have definitely opened the door to a lot more possibilities and we’re really looking forward to getting back to the office and pushing all the new ideas we’ve had today.

Ready for something Skew?

Whether you’re stuck with a project or just want a fresh perspective, Skew’s haul event is the perfect one-day masterclass where you can engage an agency with over 20 years industry experience. Open to past clients or new brands, this day works as a laser focused workshop or a taster day, where you’ll have access to bespoke expert advice. Our next haul is taking place on the 10th September 2024 in London, find out more information and secure your spot today here.