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Gordon MacPherson

Owner and Managing Director

Gordon is managing director at The Retailer Group and is the Group’s lead on several major retail accounts in the UK and internationally. Based in TRG’s..

Gordon Bell

Strategic Adviser

Gordon Bell has retired from The Retailer Group in June 2022. He enjoyed a successful career with some of the top brands on the high street and then moved onto develop..

Lynda Murray

Senior Associate 

Lynda specialises in visual merchandising and prides herself on creating design solutions that focus on the appearance of stores and their sales results.

Helen Williamson

Senior Associate

Helen is the newest addition to The Retailer Group and brings with her over 30 years of Retail experience and 10 years of Executive Board experience. 

John Cowan

Senior Associate

John specialises in training and business operations. Projects he has successfully managed include The London and Rio Olympics, Commonwealth Games…

Mike Burl

Senior Associate

Mike is The Retailer Group’s lead digital strategist and web design & development expert, with extensive knowledge in all things digital. Mike is the lead developer on website design..

Anna Johnson

Senior Associate

Anna offers multi-lingual project management and analytical support at The Retailer Group. She specialises in managing international projects with..

Annika Jefferys

Senior Associate

Annika has extensive experience in visual concept design creation and prototype planning across a range of visual merchandise and space management..

Jerry Carter

Senior Associate

Jerry has extensive experience as a senior associate with The Retailer Group, overseeing operations, loss prevention, finance and outsourcing support services.

Kathryn Horsfall

Senior Associate

Kathryn is a senior associate with The Retailer Group, specialising in buying, merchandising and design. She is a creative fashion professional…

Paul Wareham

Senior Associate

Paul specialises in visitor attractions and heritage sites. He is an accomplished operator with expertise in buying and range planning…

Cameron Bell

Senior Associate

Cameron is The Retailer Group’s senior cyber security adviser. He has led international programs across cyber security, connected logistics…

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Owner and Managing Director

Gordon is managing director at The Retailer Group and is the Group’s lead on several major retail accounts in the UK and internationally. Based in TRG’s office in England, he works closely with clients to fully understand the detail of any opportunity or challenge prior to setting the strategic direction of any project,

His background covers large and small-space formats. He possesses excellent leadership and operation skills – executed at board level – to deliver results within demanding and constantly changing environments, including start-ups. He has extensive international experience and a strong commercial focus.

Before joining The Retailer Group, Gordon held various senior positions at House of Fraser where he led the retail team in the acquisition of major department store groups. He has experience as retail director at Jessops, managing large teams and complex projects such as restructures. His experience includes sports retail, working on many of the world’s largest sporting events, he also held the position of sales development director for an established English football club.

Under Gordon’s leadership The Retailer Group has grown significantly in the last few years and the team has expanded delivering for clients in visitor attractions, university retail/ hospitality and sports retail, with an emphasis on memorabilia. Shop/restaurant/cafe/bar design and implementation lie at the heart of the business whilst offering logistical and operational support and more recently web design/graphic design have been successful strands added to the business.

Strategic Adviser

Gordon Bell has retired from The Retailer Group in June 2022. He enjoyed a successful career with some of the top brands on the high street and then moved onto develop and grow the business over a period of 20 years. He is now spending time with his family and perusing his love of sailing and keeping busy as ever. Whilst 100% fully engaged in retirement, Gordon remains a friend of all at The Retailer Group and provides strategic advice from time to time.

Lynda is Senior Associate, specialising in visual merchandising, and has worked with The Retailer Group for over 10 years. Lynda is passionate about ‘the look’ of stores and public spaces and develops and nurtures creative ideas. Lynda prides herself on creating design solutions that deliver to the agreed brief, focussing on the appearance of stores, their functionality and their sales results.

Lynda was formerly director of visual merchandising at House of Fraser and has held senior positions at Burton Group where she was responsible for the store design, windows, visual merchandising strategies and point of sale/package design. Lynda is a motivational and inspirational visual expert; her teams have won several prestigious industry awards.

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Helen is the newest addition to The Retailer Group and brings with her over 30 years of Retail experience and 10 years of Executive Board experience. Helen is a change specialist, successfully leading teams through reorganisation, transformation, turnaround and crisis. She has an excellent track record of improving profitability by finding customer centric levers for growth. Helen is an advisory board member for many start-ups and enjoys mentoring founders to help establish market positioning, sales and distribution channels, production and 3rd party partnerships. Her network of contacts is expansive and covers all major distribution channels and suppliers. Helen understands Brand custodianship and sustainable growth strategies as well as being adept at spotting Brands which are ripe for revitalising under new ownership or management.

Helen’s Retail experience spans many much-loved high street and premium Brands. She is a Consultant for the activewear Brand LNDR and prior to this was Managing Director of Whistles, leading Whistles through a transaction to TFG ownership, restructure, and a successful turnaround. Helen has also held Senior Leadership roles at Hobbs and Ted Baker where she oversaw the International expansion into Asia, Europe and America, adapting product, processes and structures to facilitate exponential growth.

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John is a highly experienced associate at The Retailer Group and specialises in training and business operations. He has successfully managed a number of projects in the UK and internationally, including The London Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Rio Olympics and The Open Championship.

He has operated as regional director for a number of major brands, including Disney, Asda, Littlewoods and John Smith & Sons.  As a business consultant, John has provided support and training for SMEs and on large-scale projects for companies such as Hilco, Alteri and Great America. He has also overseen the administration closure process for multiple stores, including Woolworths, Comet, Austin Reed and T.J. Hughes.

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Senior Associate

Mike is The Retailer Group’s lead digital strategist and web design & development expert, with extensive knowledge in all things digital. Mike is the lead developer on website design, development, and digital marketing activities. His goal is to help businesses maximise their digital opportunities and has worked across multiple sectors. Mike is solution focused and innovative in his approach. He has a collaborative and personable style whilst being focused on delivering the individual business needs.

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Senior Associate

Anna offers multi-lingual project management and analytical support at The Retailer Group. She specialises in managing international projects with teams across the globe, ensuring smooth communication, and understanding across cultures. Anna’s expertise also spans into translation project management, ensuring brand’s messages and campaigns are expertly adapted across languages.

Anna’s international project management experience has included The London Olympic Games, The Rio Olympic Games, The Commonwealth Games, and Real Madrid Football Club. Anna has also coordinated large language projects for multi-national technology companies, and managed translations for brands such as Rémy Martin, Disney, Cartier, Allianz, Nike, IKEA and Hyatt.

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Senior Associate

Annika has extensive experience in visual concept design creation and prototype planning across a range of visual merchandise and space management projects for major brands. Most recently she was responsible for developing the style/theme of window schemes and seasonal guides for leading brands in the UK and sourced props for newly refurbished shops in University retail. Effective sourcing of props and fixtures within budget is a key strength.

Annika portfolio includes projects for Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser, Ralph Lauren, Mappin and Webb, Watches of Switzerland, Feather & Black, M&S and the National Union of Students. She has a collaborative working style and enjoys training staff, on the job, whilst delivering on store refreshes or refurbishments.

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Jerry has extensive experience as a senior associate with The Retailer Group, overseeing operations, loss prevention, finance and outsourcing support services.

Jerry has worked at a senior level for Debenhams and House of Fraser, responsible for internal business communications, loss prevention, audit, maintenance, health and safety and store administration controls.

He is adept in complex situations and works collaboratively with the teams he engages with. He has carried out extensive business reviews across a number of diverse industries.

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Kathryn is a senior associate with The Retailer Group, specialising in buying, merchandising and design. She is a creative fashion professional and has a strong commercial approach with proven creative experience in cutting-edge retail fashion environments. Kathryn has the ability to translate ideas into tangible outcomes and she has a true understanding of the ‘world of the creative’ and the relative commercial processes within it.

She has successfully operated in high-profile buying roles in the U.K. and India, working for a number of major retailers in complex multi-brand retail environments. Her experience includes ten years as womenswear director at House of Fraser.  Over a period of nine years in India she formulated strategies and created a number of private-label brands for key domestic fashion players.  Kathryn empowers teams and fosters a collaborative culture.

Paul is a senior associate with The Retailer Group and specialises in visitor attractions and heritage sites. He is an accomplished operator with expertise in buying and range planning, based on more than thirty years retail management experience.

Paul was director of retail at National Museums for Scotland for a period of 8 years. In that time he led the expansion plans for retail as the museum went through a major transformation. Previously, Paul worked for top brands such as Selfridges in London and Jenners in Edinburgh.

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Cameron is The Retailer Group’s senior cyber security adviser.

He is a recognised innovation strategist and business designer and has led international product and service development programs across cyber security, connected logistics, open-banking, smart cities and autonomous transport.

Most recently, he helped to establish the new London Cyber Innovation Centre for DCMS in the UK. Cameron is an alumni of Babson College in Boston, Industry Liaison at MIT and proud Saltire Fellow at Entrepreneurial Scotland.

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