What if having a "good eye" is actually holding back your buying career? In this episode, Elisabeth Mac Hale shares her 25+ years of industry experience and reveals the critical mistake that prevents 90% of fashion buyers from advancing to leadership roles.

After managing over $120 million in annual budgets and hiring more than 100 fashion buyers, Elisabeth breaks down three essential commercial skills that separate successful buyers from those who plateau:

Margin Impact Understanding,

Open-to-Buy Planning, and

Critical Path Management.

Through real examples you'll discover why creative vision without commercial strategy leads to career stagnation, and how to bridge the gap between aesthetic vision and business reality.

Perfect for junior buyers, buying assistants, fashion graduates, and anyone looking to advance their retail career.

Key Takeaways:

• Why "good eye" thinking plateaus careers while commercial strategy accelerates them
• The 3 commercial skills that separate leaders from followers
• How to identify and address your specific skill gaps systematically

Free skills assessment link below

https://learn.designdirectiveme.com/fashion-buyer-ready-quiz

MIni Online Masterclass "The Buyers ToolKIt"

https://designdirectiveme.com/fashion-buying-short-course

#FashionBuying #RetailCareer #CommercialSkills #BuyingStrategy #FashionBusiness

Every buyer has heard it — “Be more commercial.”
But what does that actually mean?

In this episode, Elisabeth breaks down one of the most misunderstood phrases in fashion buying.
She explains how being commercial isn’t about losing creativity — it’s about understanding the why behind what sells, and using that insight to make your creativity more powerful.

Drawing on her 25+ years in buying and her experience training global fashion teams, Elisabeth shares:
Why commercial thinking starts with curiosity, not spreadsheets.
The 3 commercial pillars every buyer should master
How to read the story your sales data is telling you.
And how commercial awareness builds the confidence that drives promotions.

Whether you’re early in your buying career or ready to step up into leadership, this episode will help you see how creative and commercial thinking work together — not against each other.

• “Commercial” = curiosity + clarity + connection.

• Your numbers aren’t judgement — they’re feedback.

• When you can explain your decisions with evidence, people listen differently.

• Understand what being “commercial” really means.

• Build confidence interpreting buying reports and KPIs.

• Learn how to balance creativity with commercial success.

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• 🧭 Take the Free Fashion Buyer Skills Assessment:

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Do you feel like you got the buying job but not the training? You’re not alone.
In this episode, Elisabeth explains why so many early-career fashion buyers struggle — and what the industry forgot to teach them.

You’ll learn:

• The three missing lessons every buyer should know.
• Why confidence is built, not born.
• How to connect creativity with commercial thinking.

🎯 Take the free Fashion Buyer Skills Assessment → [Quiz Link ]

For more info and courses available visit The Design Directive website