abacus merchandising.
talent. with added rewards.
The world of retail has changed, and so have we.
Gone is the aggressive, cut-throat ethos of yesteryear – now replaced by a compassionate and supportive culture. And that’s why Abacus Merchandising offers so much more than just recruitment; when partnering with us, you’re working with a renowned expert who can offer additional value and benefits to your business.
With over 20 years of merchandising recruitment under her belt, Mary Anderson-Ford has launched Abacus Merchandising – a talent business, offering more than ever to her trusted clients and candidates.
In addition to the recruitment she has become so well known for, she is now bringing further consultative services to the retail industry that she loves as much as you do. Combining talent search with her coaching qualification, she now offers complimentary coaching hours with every piece of work she completes. She continues to coach across a variety of areas – such as confidence, leadership, executive guidance & redundancy support – to help the clients and candidates she works with.
Abacus Merchandising also provides detailed salary surveys, team structure reviews and industry intelligence to really allow our trusted clients to offer the very best to their teams. And our candidates are always more than keen to hear about what their worth is in the wider world, so we’re very happy to keep them abreast of salaries too.
We know the world of merchandising like the back of our hand – and the people in it. Whether you’re recruiting for your product roles, digital positions or the multichannel functions. In the UK or across the globe. And whether you need support with MAAs, MDs or anything in between… building entire teams is something we’ve done plenty of.
We’ve got the perfect formula to help you build an industry-leading merchandising team, and to really elevate what you do.
added value for clients.
When you work with us, you don’t get an agency-style contact, you get an external recruitment partner. We understand the world you work in, because it’s a world we’ve worked in too. We know the challenges involved in recruiting the Right Person… and the pain of interviewing countless versions of the Wrong Person. We feel the same way and will never waste your time with “fillers”. Our expertise and strong network gives us access to the brightest stars in the industry.
We’ll only take on assignments where we know we can add value. An honest approach is essential, and where we can’t help we’d always prefer to say “no” from the start, than to say “sorry” later on. When partnering with you we like to meet with your teams to really understand your business, and can then provide a wide range of services including retained search assignments, confidential briefs, contract solutions and consultancy during times of business change.
Once we’ve appointed the right person together, we then offer you three coaching sessions for either your new recruit, or someone in your team you feel would benefit.
added benefits for candidates.
When you’re looking for a new job, you’re looking for someone to be your eyes and ears on the ground while you carry on focussing on your current role. You want to know that someone has your best interests at heart, and is committed to helping you secure that perfect new position.
We will always try to meet with you, talk over your experience, advise you on what’s going on “out there” and give you an honest opinion as to what sort of business would suit you best – and the salary you should be commanding. We can get your CV looking slick, help you polish your interview techniques and be an enthusiastic cheerleader when it’s time to interview for your dream job.
For us it’s not just a formulaic process that ends when you start in your new position. It’s about being a trusted confidante and maintaining that relationship throughout your career. You’re in it for the long haul, and so are we. And that’s why we take time to help you prepare for your interview, offering both online and in-person support to ensure you secure that dream job.
added praise from over the years.
“The thing about Mary is that while all recruitment agencies say they meet their candidates, she’s actually known them for years and has genuine relationships with them. They’ve all grown up together in the industry – with them working within the retailers, and her as their chosen recruitment partner throughout. It’s a level of expertise and understanding that really puts her head and shoulders above her competitors.”
“Mary has a really targeted approach to recruitment, and always hits the nail on the head in terms of the kind of role or company that would suit. Her personality and endless enthusiasm certainly ease the often tedious task of job-searching.”
“Mary is the best recruitment consultant I have ever worked with. She is always happy to hear from you, is very efficient at returning calls & emails and chasing answers for you. It’s always a pleasure to work with her and I feel confident that she will place me in a job that will suit me.”
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“Mary is always my first phone call when it comes to recruiting for my team, and she has found me some fantastic people over the years. Her knowledge of the world of B&M makes her a true expert and the recruitment process smooth and efficient. Her understanding of our business – its culture and challenges – coupled with her professional, personable service makes her my partner of choice and I would highly recommend her.”
“I have always found the level of service from Mary to be of an extremely high standard. She immediately understands the brief, requirements, fit for the business and the speed in which we needed to appoint the right person. She acts quickly, only sends us candidates who she knows will fit the bill and has a knack of distilling a lot of information into exactly the right candidate, which is a fine skill. Her depth of understanding of the retail market, integrity, honesty and passion makes her a pleasure to work with. I have no hesitation in recommending her.”
contact.
Mary Anderson-Ford has been specialising in merchandising recruitment since 2005. In that time she has recruited hundreds and hundreds of merchandisers at all levels from Allocator to Managing Director - and is so proud to have helped shape the careers of so many of her long-term connections, as well as develop incredible teams for dozens of retailers.
Outside of work, Mary lives on an island on the Thames. She is a self-confessed crazy cat lady (plus the new dog, Mr Chops), makes a mean curry, loves holidaying in Greece and wears Scamp & Dude, Mint Velvet & Wyse. She also runs The Silver Sprite, a jewellery & crystals business she started in lockdown and The Glass Slipper, her coaching company.
She’s never bored, is Mary.