Third Wave Fashion // JUNE 2014 | Page 20

YOU SHOULD KNOW // TWF INTERVIEW and specialized in intellectual property protection, and later went back to school from my MBA. I started working in fashion wholesale, first within a leading multi-brand showroom in NY and later handling distribution at a number of small-to-medium sized designer brands both in NY and London, first in-house and later in a consulting capacity. What's next for Brand + Commercial ? CECI JOANNOU Editor in Chief at Brand + Commercial. What is Brand + Commercial ? Brand + Commercial is an online trade publication that’s focused on the commercial side of fashion. I launched Brand + Commercial back in 2012 primarily as a means to open up the conversation about the kinds of challenges and opportunities that business owners and commercial decision-makers face in their day-to-day. Who are your writers ? Who are your readers ? As a perspective-led publication, what we’re really interested in is offering our readers first-hand insights from a range of industry professionals who work on the commercial side of fashion and share our desire to see our industry move forward. Still, our core is a fairly tight editorial team, made up of myself and my colleagues, Rachel Ginsberg and Melissa Wusaty - two amazing ladies who are equally as passionate about this space. What can readers expect to get from you ? At Brand + Commercial we're really about offering higher-level, perspective-led editorial on very practical, commercial issues. Our content is focused on the broader challenges of luxury brand building, the kinds of commercial decisions that business owners need to make, the legal ramifications of managing a luxury fashion brand and of course the ways in which emerging technologies are upliing the sales experience and creating internal operational efficiencies. What other services do you provide ? I consult, working with fashion companies that are looking for targeted intelligence and hands-on solutions across retail, wholesale and e-commerce. I also speak at industry events and workshops. What was your background before starting the company ? Well, I originally studied law - which in the UK, is offered at undergraduate level - // 18 Well, we’re coming up to our 2 year anniversary in June, which is an exciting accomplishment in and of itself. However, we’re also marking the occasion by launching + Co, a subscription-based business that addresses a key pain point in the wholesale search and selection process, which we will be unveiling next month. My background is in fashion wholesale so I know that this is a space that is oen fraught with challenges, part