Paula Gorman has built an impressive career in retail, starting as a sales assistant at Witchery and rising to lead the world’s first global tween skincare brand. With a strong focus on understanding customer needs and driving innovation, Paula and the Allkinds team have successfully navigated the challenges of creating a values-driven brand for Gen Alpha. She shares with Michelle Ruzzene her journey, the lessons learned along the way, and her vision for the future of Allkinds.
How did your experience as a sales assistant at Witchery shape your career?
When I was 16, I lived in Norway for a year as an exchange student, and the first thing I did when I got home was to head out to my local shopping centre to look for a job. When I started as a junior casual at Witchery I had no idea that it would the beginning of a career in retail where one role lead to the next—Accessories Buyer, Apparel Buying Manager and General Manager of Planning at Witchery, Planning Manager and MD at Trenery, Group GM at Portmans and now (by far the most fun of all!) General Manager at Allkinds.
What were the key lessons from your early retail years?
That the customer is always right! It’s the biggest cliché in retail, but it’s said with good reason. You cannot succeed if you don’t know your customer and are not laser focused on creating products and experiences that they love.
What was the turning point from sales assistant to your first managerial role?
Honestly, I hassled everyone from head office who came into the store about getting a job there; there’s a very good chance that they gave me my first job to shut me up! I started as the assistant to the Assistant Buyer—faxing, filing, photocopying and making tea and coffee and thought I had the best job in the world! I was passionate, worked hard, and was extremely lucky to have been offered a role as Accessories Buyer about 18 months later.
What challenges do you face moving from the shop floor to management?
A common challenge in retail is that people get promoted because they are good at their job, but that doesn’t necessarily equip them with the skills to be a good manager, so I think that I learned a lot from my own mistakes.
How have you applied innovation and creativity in your roles?
Innovation and creativity are part of almost every aspect of retail in some way—whether it’s developing fun new products or coming up with the best way to effectively reach new customers, every day requires innovative and creative thinking.
What initial challenges did you face in establishing Allkinds?
When we developed the Allkinds concept, we realised that Gen Alpha were totally under-served in the market. There were products for babies and brands for adults, but almost nothing for that very important ‘growing-up’ phase. Allkinds was the first self-care brand globally for kids and teens, so we really had to make it up as we went along. It took us more than three years to develop and create the brand, find the right suppliers, formulate and test the products, design the packaging and stores, and build the website.
How did your previous roles help in creating Allkinds’ identity?
I’ve had the privilege to work with some of the best retailers in the industry, each of whom I’ve learned a little from. After many years in fashion retail, I had a strong sense of wanting to be a part of something that was very values driven, and genuinely here for good.
How has your leadership approach evolved over time?
When I was younger, I was driven by strong desire to prove myself, whereas now what feels more important is to see our team succeed, and to celebrate their success.
What principles guide your decision-making?
My benchmark for decision making is ‘Is it the best possible decision we can make based on the information we have?’ There are a lot of decisions that can be made based on data and history but sometimes you also must be guided by intuition and gut feel for where trends are heading.
Who were your mentors and their impact on your career?
My biggest mentor is Peter Lew. He is an extraordinary retailer with a genuine love for product and the most incredible eye for detail. My first job with him was as a junior casual at Witchery Knox when I was 17—and here we are still working together almost 35 years later. Throughout my career he has supported and guided me, challenged me, allowed me to make mistakes and given me opportunities to grow.
How do you mentor future leaders at Allkinds?
I think that leading by example is the best mentorship that any leader can provide. Taking an honest and open approach to uncomfortable conversations, giving credit where credit’s due, celebrating the wins and banding together to resolve issues when necessary. Providing guidance and support but also giving them space to make decisions and take accountability.
What personal qualities have been crucial to your success?
Being passionate and genuinely caring about outcomes for the business, my team and our customers.
How do you continue developing your leadership skills?
I believe that improvement comes via lived experience ie: we learn from our successes and mistakes! Something went well—do more of that. Something didn’t go well—try a different way next time. To me, good leadership requires self-awareness, and building relationships that support honest feedback allows for constant evolution and learning. Growth comes from having the humility to always be open to better ideas, and different ways to do things.
What are your future goals for Allkinds?
To continue to support kids and teens to feel their best every day.
How do you envision your career evolving in the next few years?
With the continued growth, expansion and evolution of Allkinds.
This article was first published in the Spring issue of Retail Beauty:
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