NYFW returns, a UN climate ruling, money laundering in luxury — and a chat with a luxury sales vet

Summary

The Glossy Podcast: NYFW Returns, a UN Climate Ruling, Money Laundering in Luxury—and a Chat with a Luxury Sales Vet
Release Date: July 25, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Glossy Podcast, host and senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, alongside international reporter Zofia Zvaglinska, delves into significant developments shaping the fashion and luxury industries. The discussion navigates through the evolving landscape of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), a groundbreaking UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on climate change, a high-profile money laundering case involving Louis Vuitton in the Netherlands, and an insightful interview with Patience Anway Lampd Battle, a seasoned luxury sales associate.

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1. New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Evolves
Timestamp: [00:57] - [08:53]

Danny Parisi opens the discussion by highlighting the recent updates to the NYFW schedule, emphasizing notable structural changes aimed at revitalizing the event. Zofia Zvaglinska brings attention to the return of Alexander Wang to NYFW after a hiatus since 2018, marking a significant comeback for the designer.

Notable Brands and Absences:
Zofia points out the inclusion of international newcomers such as Off-White COS and Tottenham, while also noting the absence of long-standing participants like Carolina Herrera, who is showcasing in Madrid this season. She remarks, “Carolina Herrera’s absence is a big departure, obviously, for her, because she's been showing at NYFW for a long time” ([03:11]).

Venue Collective Initiative:
The conversation shifts to the collaboration between NYFW and the KFN organization, which introduces the Venue Collective. This initiative centralizes show locations within Manhattan below 34th Street into three categories: Runway, Multi-Designer Venues, and Showrooms. Danny shares insights from industry insiders who have found the previous diffusion of events across the city challenging for both attendees and journalists. He states, “It absolutely made my job harder” ([04:30]).

Zofia compares this move to London Fashion Week's centralized model, questioning its impact on brands that traditionally select unique venues aligned with their themes. She suggests that while smaller and younger brands will benefit from shared resources, established brands might continue to seek distinctive locations. Danny concurs, highlighting the financial benefits and the critical mass brought by over 30 major brands joining the Venue Collective ([08:53]).

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2. UN International Court of Justice's Climate Ruling
Timestamp: [09:20] - [15:33]

The podcast transitions to an impactful ruling by the UN's ICJ, where all 15 judges unanimously decide that wealthy nations must adhere to their environmental commitments or face liability for the repercussions of climate change on vulnerable nations. Zofia underscores the ruling's significance by explaining, “They’ve said that climate change is an urgent and existential threat” ([10:29]).

Implications for Global Responsibility:
Zofia elaborates on how the ruling addresses the disproportionate burden placed on the Global South, particularly island nations like Vanuatu, which are already experiencing the dire effects of rising sea levels. She connects this legal precedent to broader issues in the fashion industry, such as the environmental impact of fast fashion and shifting manufacturing responsibilities. Danny adds a layer of optimism, interpreting the ruling as a foundational step toward holding major polluters accountable, despite setbacks like the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retracting crucial climate policies. He remarks, “This ruling just shows that there’s still going to be more to come” ([12:26]).

Zofia anticipates a surge in climate-related lawsuits against major polluters, emphasizing the interconnectedness of nations and shared planetary responsibility. She remains cautiously hopeful about the enforcement of these legal measures, despite concerns over major emitters’ commitments ([15:33]).

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3. Louis Vuitton and Money Laundering in the Netherlands
Timestamp: [15:33] - [19:59]

Danny shifts to a more sensational topic involving Louis Vuitton, discussing a case where the brand was inadvertently involved in a money laundering scheme in the Netherlands. Over 18 months, a woman spent millions of euros on Louis Vuitton bags, which prosecutors allege were funded by illicit activities. Although Louis Vuitton is not accused of wrongdoing, authorities are scrutinizing whether the retailer failed to report transactions just below the €10,000 threshold, raising concerns about financial oversight within the luxury sector.

Complexities of Financial Crime in Luxury Retail:
Zofia provides context by introducing the concept of "daigo" shoppers—personal shoppers, often from China, who purchase luxury items on behalf of clients, making financial tracking challenging for brands. She explains, “From a brand perspective, you don’t really know who’s shopping in your store as a result” ([17:18]).

Danny cites insights from Ravi Da Silva of De Risk Partners, who underscores that the high prices and global supply chains inherent in luxury goods make them prime targets for financial crimes. This intricate web of international transactions and varying jurisdictional regulations complicates efforts to detect and prevent such activities. The discussion hints at potential repercussions for Louis Vuitton concerning compliance and data management, especially with upcoming earnings reports possibly reflecting the brand's broader challenges ([19:59]).

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4. Store Associates Strategies: An Interview with Patience Anway Lampd Battle
Timestamp: [23:42] - [56:15]

The latter part of the episode features an in-depth interview conducted by Jo Manoff with Patience Anway Lampd Battle, an experienced store associate specializing in fragrance. This segment is part of The Glossy Podcast’s series focused on store associates and their evolving roles within luxury retail.

Career Trajectory and Passion for Fragrance:
Patience shares her 15-year journey in retail sales, transitioning from ready-to-wear and shoes to the nuanced world of niche luxury fragrances. She emphasizes the importance of networking, stating, “Getting yourself into spaces, getting to know people, going to events, that is. It matters” ([25:05]).

The Role of Personal Shoppers and Financial Dynamics:
Patience discusses the rise of personal shoppers (daigo) and their impact on luxury retail. These shoppers often handle significant financial transactions on behalf of clients, complicating brands' ability to monitor and prevent financial crimes. She explains, “From a store perspective, you don’t really know who’s shopping in your store” ([17:18]).

Compensation Structures and Career Sustainability:
A significant portion of the interview delves into the compensation structures for store associates, highlighting the balance between hourly wages and commission-based earnings. Patience elaborates on how commissions can substantially elevate an associate’s income, especially when selling high-ticket items. She notes, “If you’re $26 an hour, but then you’re 6, 7% commission and the items you’re selling are in the high hundreds to thousands, then you can figure how much you’re used to selling per month” ([50:21]).

Challenges with Gen Z and Workforce Dynamics:
Patience offers insights into generational shifts within retail, particularly the influx of Gen Z workers who exhibit high turnover rates and distinct expectations. She remarks on the necessity for flexibility and appealing benefits to retain younger employees: “If you’re not commission, we need great salaries” ([45:34]).

Enhancing Customer Experience and Sales Strategies:
The conversation touches on innovative strategies to attract and retain customers, such as integrating hospitality elements into retail spaces. Patience emphasizes the importance of creating memorable experiences to drive sales, stating, “Anything that you can do to bring a customer into the store is the thing to do now because it’s not just about product anymore” ([41:10]).

Training and Professional Development:
Patience underscores the critical role of continuous training and education in maintaining excellence in customer service. She highlights how brands invest in comprehensive training programs, including sessions with brand executives and perfumers, to ensure associates are well-versed in their offerings: “Education is very important and it’s not stopping” ([38:18]).

Conclusion of the Interview:
The interview wraps up on a high note, with Patience enthusiastically sharing her favorite fragrances and the personal connections that enhance her ability to engage customers. Her passion for the craft and dedication to building lasting client relationships exemplify the evolving role of store associates in the luxury sector.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Glossy Podcast offers a comprehensive exploration of the intersections between fashion, technology, environmental responsibility, and financial integrity within the luxury industry. From structural innovations at NYFW to pivotal environmental rulings and the intricate challenges of combating financial crimes in luxury retail, the discussions provide valuable insights for industry professionals and enthusiasts alike. The engaging interview with Patience Anway Lampd Battle further humanizes the narrative, shedding light on the vital role of store associates in shaping customer experiences and maintaining brand excellence.

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For more in-depth stories and strategies on store associates, visit the Glossy website and explore the Store Associates Strategies series.

Transcript

[Danny Parisi]

Brands care about two things in media. One they love, the other they hate. Growth moves brands forward. Waste holds them back. Tenuity is an agency built for marketers who demand growth and accountability. Their powerful technology hunts down waste, the biggest growth killer of all, enabling their brilliant people to create growth for brands that defines the category. Tenuity, Love growth, hate waste. Find out what your media is really doing@lovegrowth. Hate waste.com hello, and welcome back to the Glossy Podcast. I'm your host, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, and I'm here with our international reporter, Zofia Zvaglinska. Hello, Zofia. How are you doing today?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, good, thank you. Really excited to be on again.

[Danny Parisi]

Thank you so much for being here. You came up with all three ideas of the news. We're going to talk about this week. You had your, you had your ear to the ground. So I appreciate that. But there's some really interesting stuff. First, we're going to talk about the New York Fashion Week schedule came out this week with some really interesting changes. We'll talk about some of the brands that are going to be there, but I mainly want to talk about the structure because they have messed with the locations a little bit in a way that I'm very excited about. Secondly, we're going to talk about a ruling from the UN's International Court of Justice related to global climate change commitments from wealthy countries. There was a pretty important ruling made this week unanimously by that court, so we'll get into that. And then lastly, we want to talk about a really kind of interesting and a little bit weird story relating to Louis Vuitton in the Netherlands, where they, I should be clear, Louis Vuitton is not accused of any wrongdoing, but somebody else was money laundering through a Louis Vuitton store. So we will talk a little bit about the risks of financial crime and things like that in the luxury world, because it's quite common, from what I've heard. And then, yeah, later in the episode, if you've been looking at the Glossy homepage, you may have seen we've been doing a series this week on store associates. We've had some really cool stories about staffing stores in other countries or how fashion brands are using their store associates as influencers, all that kind of stuff. As part of that series this week, our editor in chief, Jo Manoff had a great conversation with a longtime store associate, someone who's worked at a lot of the big boutiques, and she gave some really interesting anecdotes about that career and some of the expectations around staffing and being a store associate in a luxury fashion store. So, very interesting conversation later in the episode, but let's start by talking about New York Fashion Week. So, like I said, the CFDA schedule was released this week. We got our first look at what's going on in fashion this season in New York. I want to quickly touch on some of the brands that are going to be there. The big thing for me was that, notably, Alexander Wang is back in New York Fashion Week for the first time since 2018. He's mostly been showing on the west coast and in other places. That's kind of a big return in that regard. Any other interesting brands or shows that you saw on the schedule, Zofia?

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

I mean, the international kind of newcomers from my side are particularly interesting. So brands like Off White Cos, which is, I would say, more high street than high fashion, and Tottenham as well. And then obviously the notable kind of absence here, as well as Carolina Herrera, who's showing in Madrid instead of New York Fashion Week. And it's quite a big departure, obviously, for her, because she's been showing at New York Fashion Week for a long time.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. The other big change, and this is what I want to spend the most time talking about, because I find it very interesting. There's an organization called KFN which has been working with the CFDA to revitalize and improve New York Fashion Week and the whole experience. They had a big announcement this week, which I think is so interesting, in which they are going to try to centralize the locations of a lot of the shows. They're doing something called the Venue Collective, basically corralling all of the official shows, or many of the official shows, into three sort of into a loose area, all in Manhattan, all below 34th street, and in three sort of venue types, which they're calling Runway, multi, designer, venue and showrooms. The reason I find this so interesting is because last season I talked to a lot of people, especially people who had been doing either working at New York Fashion Week or showing at New York Fashion Week for years. And one of the big things they told me is, was like, the week is getting too diffused. You know, like, people are spreading out all over the place in place and time. For my job as a journalist, I definitely have noticed that. And it's definitely very annoying to go from, like, one end of the city to another, and then out to Brooklyn and then back to Manhattan again and then out to Chelsea. It's like it absolutely made my job harder. And talking to A lot of designers, I think a lot of them, they appreciated the flexibility of getting to pick a unique venue or whatever, but a lot of them were missing out on this communal aspect of all the shows being in one location. And also, frankly, there's a financial benefit to that because oftentimes you can share resources. If multiple brands are showing in the same space, it brings costs down for everybody. I think it's a really good change, selfishly, because it makes my job easier. But also, again, I have heard from a lot of brands that it's something that they want. I don't know. Zofia, did you see anything about that, and what are your thoughts?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, it seems like it's quite a similar structure to what happens already at London Fashion Week. There's always a kind of centralized venue there, and brands basically decide to pick whether they want to be in that centralized location or if they want to choose somewhere special to show their collections. Now, granted, most of the bigger brands on the London Fashion Week circuit, so ones like Burberry, for example, or Fode's brand, like, those are Labrum. So those are brands that typically show somewhere else, mostly because those places are more interesting visually and they have a kind of better reception for what that brand is trying to do that season. So I'm wondering, how is that going to come up for New York Fashion Week, where a lot of the times you've got locations that are specific to that show's kind of theme or the brand's kind of general values? I've spoken about some of the destination shows that have happened from brands or Ralph Lauren's specific destination kind of ideas around New York as well. I'm wondering, as a result, is that going to be good for those brands if they're going to be involved? I'd say it's very good for smaller brands and younger brands because it gives them, as you mentioned, those kind of shared resources.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I think you raise a really good point. And that's exactly. I think the trade off of doing it this way is like, especially in a city like New York or London, where there are so many interesting places with lots of history. I mean, one of the nice things about picking your own venue that is not, you know, centralized and not being used by anybody else is a lot of times you don't have to do anything to it. I remember talking to a designer this past season who was showing and did kind of like a presentation in the lobby of this beautiful hotel. I'm forgetting the name of it. And, like, it was One of the things she said to me was we didn't have to decorate. Like it just looks beautiful already compared to back in the day when all the shows were at Spring Studios. A lot of those theaters. A lot of the rooms in Spring Studios where you would do a show are kind of just like white boxes. And if you wanted it to match the theme of your show, you'd have to do a lot of work to get it there or you'd just embrace the fact that it's a white box, a plain white box, which some brands definitely have done. That's definitely the trade off. Like you said. I think the big brands with tons of money can and probably still will go off and do their own thing. I think the interesting thing about this is that when the KFN made this announcement, there already is a bunch of brands signed up. I think they have over 30 brands doing it and it's big names. Brandon, Maxwell, Altazara, Simkai, Off, White Off. All are signed up to do the venue collective thing, which I think is really valuable because if they just announced it and without any big names doing it, I feel like it would just flop. It's one of those non binding things that they put out there and nobody uses it. So the fact that they've got big brands already signed up from day one I think is a good sign because it's sort of like a critical mass thing. The more brands that are kind of joining this centralized thing, the more will want to do it. Like you said, definitely more appealing I think to medium sized smaller brands who maybe can't just be a draw on their own and show whenever and wherever they like. But that is a lot of brands that fit within that umbrella. So I think it's useful.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, definitely. And we've spoken to a lot of these fashion brands in the past and how they've been facing financial challenges around the shows just because of how expensive they are. I think also centralizing the venue reduces some of those costs. So you know, some of those brands that maybe have relied a little bit heavier on sponsorships might be able to rely less on those this time around and as a result maybe show some more original collections.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, for sure, we can leave it at that because I don't have more to say other than I'm looking forward to this season because it's going to be a lot easier for me to get around. Let's talk about our second topic. So you tipped me off to this. The International Court of Justice just based in the Hague, made a ruling this Week, a unanimous ruling with the 15 judges of the court that says wealthy countries must comply with their environmental goals to curb pollution and emissions, or they can be held liable for the damage that global warming will and already has had on many nations around the globe. Unanimous decision by the court and supported by lots of climate advocacy groups, supported by nations like Vanuatu, like these small Pacific island nations that are literally already underwater because of climate change. I don't know. I really want to be optimistic about this, and I also feel like we've had lots of conversations, you and me, about how sometimes a little toothless these international rulings can be. But what's your take on. Is there actual kind of teeth to this one?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, there definitely is teeth because most importantly, they've kind of said that the climate change itself is an urgent and existential threat, which means that as a result, it's not going to be treated as something that is kind of manageable, but is something that is happening right now. I think the bigger thing is, as you mentioned with island nations, a lot of this around is essentially a payment scheme for them in terms of current damage already done to their nations, as well as the kind of global responsibility kind of initiative around things like waste, for example, where there's islands in the Maldives which are completely composed of waste, basically. And a lot of the times there's been the kind of shifting of the west and Western countries or the global north, moving waste and climate responsibility onto nations of the global south, which typically don't have the resources to deal with that. And a lot of this is also, I would say, tied to what we talk about in terms of fast fashion, because most of the global brands are based in the global North. And again, that kind of relationship between the, I guess like the brand itself and the manufacturing, which typically does happen in the Global south, has been typically kind of brushed under the carpet. And only since Rana Plaza has that really kind of come up and become a bigger issue for brands. And there's been more movement around this, even though sustainability, I would say, as a movement, has struggled. I think this ruling just shows that there's still going to be more to come. And as a result, maybe some of these brands will have to be more liable for damage that they're caused already or else damage that their brands are going to be causing in the future.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I think that's a great summary of it. And I think one of the reasons I'm optimistic about this and it feels like it does provide some. Some levers for. For nations that are heavily currently affected by climate change is, if I understand it correctly, it's basically giving legal precedent for countries to sue one another over their emissions. And if I'm flooding and it's. And you're polluting the, the world and melting the ice caps or whatever, it basically like, gives justification for financial compensation at least to flow from the biggest polluters in the world to the people most affected by it, which I think is a good thing. The big sort of elephant in the room for this whole discussion though, is that the second biggest polluter in the world, and historically the biggest, which is the US Literally is like withdrawing from every possible commitment. Just I think it was this week, the epa, the Environmental Protection Agency, is planning to literally undo the fundamental basis of their ability to act on climate change, which is, it's called the endangerment finding, was established years ago by the epa. It's just the basic assertion that climate change is real. It's caused by people, it's caused by emissions specifically, and that we need to reduce emissions in order to prevent it. That's like getting written out of the EPA's like, fundamental, like, mission statement. So I just like, I feel like that is such a big shadow hanging over the kind of global, like, movement against climate change, which includes the entire fashion industry along with all other industries, is like a major, major figure is just pulling out entirely. But I mean, on the, on the positive side, it does seem like many, many other nations and international organizations like the ICJ are stepping up. So that gives me some hope. But yeah, it's a weird time.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I think that there's definitely going to be a lot of lawsuits coming against the US Whether that's from places like Hawaii, for example, which I think has had quite a lot of environmental impact because it's been seen as this kind of holiday outpost, for example, from the. But also kind of European countries. I think what's interesting about this is the fact that it shows a bigger interconnectedness between nations and a kind of culpable responsibility for the planet as a whole rather than individual countries, which I think that that separation is similar to the tariff conversations that we've been having as well. It just shows that there's a little bit more reliance on other countries than people might think. And maybe as well, this ruling might point towards a bigger focus on, in terms of that impact and what that looks like. I'm hopeful, but obviously not overly optimistic about countries like the US Pledging to do their part.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, let's move on to a more lighthearted Topic last thing I want to talk about, I mentioned at the beginning, but there's a fascinating case in the Netherlands this week where Louis Vuitton. The New York Times headline says, louis Vuitton entangled in a money laundering scheme. You never want to be entangled in something. It's never good to be entangled. But basically, over 18 months, one woman spent millions and millions of euros on luxury bags from Louis Vuitton. Prosecutors in the Netherlands say that she was receiving money made from criminal activity from someone else who has already been convicted for that activity, and then was spending that money on Louis Vuitton bags and then sending them to Hong Kong. This wasn't said, but I'm presuming to sell them to, like, get the cash back and then that's the laundering thing. Should be clear that Louis Vuitton is not accused of any crime or anything. But there is kind of an interesting issue where I think the Netherlands authorities are sort of weighing whether Louis Vuitton should have said something, whether they should have noticed something. This woman was spending just under the legal limit, which I think is €10,000, the legal limit, where a retailer would have to report the transaction. And she was doing that regularly, which to me reads as incredibly suspicious. And we were saying before the recording, I think most countries have some sort of regulations around that if you're a provider of services or a retailer and someone is spending a very suspicious amount of money at a very suspicious frequency, that you are supposed to report something. And it seems like Louis Vuitton did not do that in this case. So, yeah, I don't know. It's really interesting. I think the luxury industry is rife with financial crime, but I don't know. What do you think?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, I think the most interesting thing is it brings up this kind of topics of the Daigo, which are these almost personal shopper envoys that have built up a really big industry in China where personal shoppers, or kind of more general shoppers would end up going to different countries, typically in Europe, to buy properties, products for customers to then send back to China. And this has been kind of a growing industry because a lot of the times these Chinese customers don't want to, don't have time to go to these places in Europe and buy the luxury products themselves. So as a result, you almost have these envoys, as I mentioned, doing the shopping for you and making very big financial decisions as a result for you. And from a brand perspective, you don't really know who's shopping in your store as A result. So this customer who's I think she's called bae, was allegedly laundering funds because she was doing it as a daigo shopper, not an individual shopper. So again, for Louis Vuitton, it's harder for them to ascertain who is actually making these purchases because they can't follow the money trail, since these purchases are typically not for that person if they're acting in this envoy kind of way. But I think that that just goes to show how, like, convoluted that whole, like, buying environment is in luxury. Like, I've been speaking to a lot of personal shoppers for that store associate series that we have going on this week. And as a result, I think it just shows that there's so much more happening in that buying department that is almost indirect, where it's coming through someone else, for someone else. These people don't even underwrite their own checks. Typically that also goes through this personal shopper. So I guess the financial trail can get quite murky. And in general, I think Louis Vuitton's been struggling a little bit over the last couple of months, and they do have their earnings, actually, which will be going live later today. So already, once this episode will be out, they've had some data breaches, but this, I think it's essentially almost like a financial breach. So I think that maybe they've been having some more issues in terms of how many customers they have and how they're storing that data and how they're tracking all of that financial data too. So really interesting. I think there's more. More to dig into here. I'm wondering what they're going to be. If they're going. If there's going to be a penalty for them for enabling this, essentially.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. It's so fascinating. I was not really aware of the big kind of personal shopper world between China and Europe. And I can totally see the murkiness, like you said, affecting your ability to determine what's suspicious or not. I do want to say the brands also are in a weird spot because they legally are. They should be reporting suspicious things. But also, on the other hand, somebody's spending a lot of money regularly. It's like, maybe we don't want to report this. Just speculating there. One more thing I wanted to add is a little while ago, I spoke with a man named Ravi Da Silva of De Risk Partners. He specializes in financial crime and helping brands and companies protect themselves from things like that for a totally unrelated story, but it just came up and he was saying that luxury fashion, luxury accessories, luxury goods and in general are actually very common target of financial crimes because of two things, high price and global supply chain, which like you said, it makes it very hard to track things internationally when you're, you know, it involves a jurisdiction of multiple countries. Sometimes the financial trail, the paper trail can be very difficult to follow, which makes it easier for things like this to happen. So really interesting and maybe something we should talk about and write about more. But I think that's all the time we have for our week in review section. Thank you so much for being here, Zofia.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Thank you so much. It was great.

[Danny Parisi]

So like I said at the top of the episode, the Glossy team has been hard at work on a series that we're calling Store Associates Strategies. This week. If you go to the Glossy website, you'll see lots of stories. They all have the same kind of pink branding, all on the theme of Store Associates and how fashion brands are kind of forming their strategies around Store Associates. Our editor in chief, Joe Manoff, who is with us right now, had a great conversation with a store associate, which you can hear in just a second. Jill, how are you?

[Jo Manoff]

Hi. Excited to tell you about my interview.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I want give us a little preview before we take a break and jump into the conversation.

[Jo Manoff]

It was so good. Definitely worth sticking around for. I spoke with Patience anway Lamp d Battle. She more so focuses on fragrance. That's her specialty in store. But she has 15 years of experience experience largely working with luxury retailers in every role from store associate to sales manager and was really open and honest about what happens in store, the amount Associates are getting paid these days, the commission that will make a job seem worthwhile, the commission rate. So yeah, she was open. She was very lively and joyful. So yeah, definitely an enjoyable segment.

[Danny Parisi]

Well, I'm excited to hear that conversation. We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back. You already know how beauty lovers treat their favorite products. They cut open the tube, scrape the last bit of blush and make every drop count. So why waste your media? Tunuity helps beauty brands eliminate waste and scale what works? Media and measurement live under one roof so you can see what's working, what's wasting. Budget and where to go next. Love growth, hate waste. Waste is the biggest growth killer of all. It hides in bloated budgets, broken attribution and vague assumptions. Tenuity doesn't tolerate it. Instead they track it down, expose it and eliminate it. Because every wasted dollar is growth that never had a chance. Don't Let your media go to waste. Visit lovegrowth hatewaste.com Foreign.

[Jo Manoff]

Welcome.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Hi, Jill.

[Jo Manoff]

Thanks so much for being here.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Thank you for having me.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. So our conversation is definitely. We're pegging this to our series we're running this week on the power of the store associate. This is something that you've been doing for a while. Tell me a little bit about your career trajectory.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, my goodness. Okay. Well, I've been in retail sales for them. Should I age myself? Like, 15 years, right, 15 years. Maybe you can say 20 years at this point. I've been in fragrance for almost 15 years. Yeah. In niche, you know, I mean, before it was. It was all about the designer. I had no idea. And then I. I started to go deeper.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I found out all the goods.

[Jo Manoff]

Oh, my gosh.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

All the secrets. Yeah.

[Jo Manoff]

I'm dying to know that. When it comes to, like, I'm sure you've seen a lot of evolution in this space. If somebody, gosh, was starting out today, like, what can they expect? Just being an associate. And I know you're in more of a managerial role now, and you. Probably a different. A different take for you, but an associate starting out in terms of salary, in terms of how they work with their. I don't know, their. Their manager or the brand itself. Like, what are things people would not expect or just should know?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I think people have the right expectation in terms of who you know, who you know is still very relevant. It really, really is, because you can. I mean, I got into niche luxury fragrances just because someone that I knew asked me to help out with an event. And, I mean, they were willing to train me and let me know everything that I needed to know before I got in there, because I was coming from Ready to wear and shoes, you know, that was a whole new world for me. And I didn't think about it as a career or job or anything. I was just helping for that day. And then it was just kaboom, you know, and I see that all the time. So getting yourself into spaces, getting to know people, going to events, that is. It matters. Networking is still a thing.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. And that gets you the job.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Like, somebody definitely gets you the job. Because when you just put in a resume, you know, if you're not qualified or if you don't know anyone, it's just a resume amongst the sea of resumes, someone might have to put in a good word for you. They may have to see your little spark and get you in. Yeah.

[Jo Manoff]

Yeah. Is it that competitive, would you say? Maybe especially In New York, where you're.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Based, New York is so competitive, you know, there are just so many people here. So I mean, just one job opens and everyone knows. Everyone knows, oh, oh, this job is open. And they're all talking about it. And you'll have 3,000 people trying to get a job. People come from other states to get a job.

[Jo Manoff]

You know, I would love to hear what you see as like the most covetable store associate jobs right now and why you kind of evolved or moved, transitioned from working in fashion and the designer top of mind to moving to fragrance. And you've stayed put in fragrance. Why fragrance?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Fragrance is so much fun. I didn't realize how nuanced it was. And just the quality that you get of an experience. I think when we think of retail jobs and what are the, the most important, we think of personal shoppers, you know, that kind of thing. And, and when you're sitting one on one with a customer or anyone and you're talking about fragrance and you're getting them to smell different things, experience how things change on their body and their skin there, it's just wonderful. You know, it's a different. It's a different experience. It really makes you feel good about your skill set, you know, and it kind of is easier in a way. Not easier because, you know, you don't have to know as much you do, you definitely have to know a lot more. But it feels like a full fledged profession and you don't have to put away a bunch of clothing racks.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes, that is true. There are no fitting rooms happening.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

There's no fitting room situation. You don't have to match some shoes together. You don't have to do all of that. We're not folding really nice.

[Jo Manoff]

It's kind of glamorous.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Take the bottle and put it back down on the table. Make sure it's cle.

[Jo Manoff]

It sounds really nice. Not gonna lie.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yes.

[Jo Manoff]

Our typical, typical store associate jobs for a designer retailer, I mean, high end retailer or. Or brand, is it commission based? Do you look for jobs that are commission based? Is that a draw? Is that a. I don't know, something that.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It is a draw. I think when you're in the industry for a while, you want those commission jobs, you know, it's not enough for you to just go and get paid by the hour. You're working hard, you're working hours and hours, you're on your feet, you know. So once you get a commission job, you're not going back to that hourly. Absolutely not. That hourly is nice. But you know, that's what means everything. Is that that big sale?

[Jo Manoff]

Yes, I've heard that it's very. Speaking of the competition, there's a lot of. Oh, it's so competitive, like. Oh yeah. The brands looking like maybe they're, I don't know, secret shopping. Some of these other retailers. Is there a lot of. Are you hearing from other brands and retailers asking or is that common? Have you heard from others looking to grab you common?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I would say when something new is happening, you know. Yeah, I think when there's a store opening or a new brand coming into a store, then you see them coming around, you know, taking their looks. They might ask for recommendations. Yeah. Or they're on LinkedIn, checking out who is already there and maybe wants to slide over a little bit. Yeah, definitely.

[Jo Manoff]

Totally. Is this a long term career? Like can you make a fabulous living doing this for all of your life? Is there, are there certain things to consider? Like is there ageism or things like that?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

No, I think because you have to have so much knowledge in fragrance. You have to have knowledge. There is just no other way. You have to know what you're talking about. The customer has to trust you and that's going to be your relationship with that person. So people develop relationships that last years and years. You know, they're there supplying for people's entire families. Yeah. So you have skincare, you have fragrance. A lot of personal shoppers, when you go into certain luxury environments, the personal shoppers range from people who are new, who are younger, but then you see the legends who are taking care of royalty and politicians and, you know, the creme de la creme, the 1% of the 1%. Those are not young people, right? Absolutely not. Yeah, because they've been there for ages. They know exactly what they're doing. They know the ins and outs. A lot of times they're responsible for creating a program, you know, the way that things are done, the status. Yes. So.

[Jo Manoff]

So that's where you see growth in the relationships maybe, as opposed to just maybe a title or being a manager. Like you can really.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It's both because you have, because it's a commission environment. The associates that have the large client bases, you know, they're making a ton of money. They really are. A lot of people, you know, when they think about retail, they don't realize that people are making money. You know, they think of everyone as like the Target employee or something, you know. But then you go into the stores and these people are wearing diamonds and they're, they're Buying homes. Yes. What do you do? Yeah, exactly. You know, you may never even see them because they're in private rooms taking care of, of people. You know, it's. Yeah, it's amazing. And fragrance, we have so much fun in fragrance. So I don't miss Ready to wear it all.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. Well, tell me what's key to getting those kind of one on one clients and building those relationships via clientele ing like what are those customers expecting from that relationship or what does it take to kind of retain them as a.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

As a client they are expecting, forethought they're expecting and a luxury experience where they don't have to think too much. This is someone who is very knowledgeable that's here to really create an experience for them. You know, they want you to keep in contact with them. The clients that become your clients for life, those people want you to talk to them. You can't have a client that's just ignoring your calls and texts. You know, those relationships are two sided. So I mean, when you're texting people for their birthday, I've seen people go on vacations with their clients. Wow.

[Jo Manoff]

Yeah, that's amazing.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You know, it's incredible what can happen. So between, you know, being an associate or if you want to go the route of, you know, more managerial situations where you're moving up within the company. I mean, different brands have different types of positions. So when you're in the store, you can be in the store line where you're going from being an associate to a manager to, you know, you could be the president of the company one day, who knows. And then in different, smaller, like the niche brands, especially for fragrance, you have senior vice Presidents, you have CEOs, you have account executives, you know, you have, you have regional executives, people that need to be there, people that have to drive the team, people that have to hire freelancers, education, all of that is important. So there's so many different jobs that people don't even think of. You know, like a lot of times when people ask me what I do or maybe they follow me around and visit me in the store and it's like, oh my gosh, I had no idea. You know. Yeah, I think everyone makes minimum wage and goes home and. No, no, no, no. This is a career for a lot of people.

[Jo Manoff]

Would you say that considering again, the, the hands on aspect of your job with keeping in touch with your clients and all the new technologies that are coming out with clientelling and being able to do things digitally, to what extent are you working with people IRL or talking with people via text, via phone, via these other platforms. Is it, has it become more like 50 50?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It is 50 50.

[Jo Manoff]

Wow.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Because, I mean, when you look at it, you know that retail has lost a lot of consumers to the online market. You know, it kind of splits the customer where, you know, there are some people that might come into the store, take a look at what's in the store, but they won't buy it in the store. They're still going to go home and buy it online. But then there are people that need that one on one with their person in the store. They need to touch the product, they need to smell things, they need to put it on. You know, that's still important to a lot of people. So the need to have technology and then to have a person kind of clashes together. So you'll see people come in with an app, you know, and say, oh, I found this. Do you have this? You know, or they'll be looking at their favorite influencer, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. This one said that this is great. I want to try it. I, you know, so they're bringing social media into the store and then we're kicking it right back out because we'll say, oh, you know, so and so said that this was amazing. This is what this celebrity is wearing. This is, you know, and people come into the store and take it out that way. So it goes round and round now.

[Jo Manoff]

Yeah, amazing. So are you posting on behalf of the company on social media? Is that encouraged? Is that, Tell me about the pressure to do so.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I think that the companies really have a handle on their social media now. Like once everyone realized how important social media was. Now that's an entire job. You know, you have entire departments that are dedicated to social media. You've got interns all the way up to your social media executives. They're curating the entire environment for how the company appears online. So us on the sales floor, we don't have to worry about that at all. But we can.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You know, you'll see a lot of associates posting online. Like, come on in and see me. I've got what you're looking for. You know, everybody's online, everyone's an influencer.

[Jo Manoff]

It's so true. It's so true. Well, speaking of that, like, when it comes to being the face of the retailer or the face of the brand that you're working for, you are not, maybe not on digital platforms, but you are when it comes to, to the training that goes into these jobs. Has it become more intense, elaborate, like, how long are you training? And has that evolved over the years?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I think it has evolved because, you know, training has always been important. You can't do anything if you're, if you're not trained in it, because it becomes very obvious very quickly that you don't know what you're talking about. Okay, so now it's more that you have to be trained on everything, not that you're trained on what's going to be the most popular, the thing that they figure a customer is going to come into the store looking for, asking about everything. You have to be trained on everything. So brands are making more of an effort to send their education directors to send, you know, perfumers are coming in and telling us about their process. You know, you have executives from all over always coming into the store and having classes. And then you have people that are consultants like me, who can teach a class so that people can understand the way to do things. When you're in the store, you know, yeah, there's all kinds of etiquette. It's just so nuanced. But education is very important and it's not stopping. People are sending people to France all the time. You see that no company. Yeah, come to Paris, we're going to train you, and then you go back home.

[Jo Manoff]

So when it comes to training and kind of what that even looks like, what are some of the elements? If somebody's going into retail associate training, what can they expect?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, they can expect brands coming in to educate them on everything that the brand sells or in the store that they're going to be dealing with, and then all their hero products, you know, what customers are going to look for, what really works. So the brand executives, maybe the people who created things they're going to do zooms with them or be there in person. They're going to get to touch the products, smell everything, use them, and in a lot of cases, take a lot of things home to use themselves over time. So you have that and then you have maybe from the store, their training on how you're supposed to function within the store. So getting to know all the different aspects of the store, what your expectations are and how to present yourself to the customer while you're in front of the customer, on the sales floor and with each other as colleagues. So you have that as well.

[Jo Manoff]

Does the training duration vary? Can it be up to a week? Is it longer than a week?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It, it's, it's all, all the time.

[Jo Manoff]

Yeah.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

When you're first coming in you're going to get a range of trainings that you have to have to be an associate in the store. And then after that there's just consistent trainings from different brands as they come in to do a training. So, you know, one month you'll have, you know, whoever it is, but you'll constantly have trainings to keep yourself up to date with what the brand is offering in the store.

[Jo Manoff]

Interesting. It makes good sense. What's the biggest challenge in your role today?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

My biggest challenge, I think the biggest challenge is to keep people interested in coming into the store, you know, because once they've gotten their store little kick, then they may feel like they don't have to come back to the store, you know, so now you're spending more time on the phone trying to understand what you can get for your customer, how you can get them to come back in. They can just decide, you know, what, you know, what I like. Send me pictures. You get that a lot. Oh, send me pictures. Send me video. I mean, oh my goodness, you could spend your whole day doing that. So we have to have a balance. We have to have people coming into the store still. Definitely. So, I mean, when you see different environments that are popping up where you have more of a fusion with hospitality, there's more bars and restaurants opening up inside the store. Store, you know, Saks had a nail salon for a little while. You know, they had their hair salon. I mean, and then different pop ups that happen. People are singing sometimes, you know, you have performances and.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

So anything that you can do to bring a customer into the store is, is the thing to do now because it's not just about product anymore.

[Jo Manoff]

You have an interesting perspective. To what extent is that activation strategy, like we're gonna do. Yes. Of, I don't know, a book signing. We're gonna do this. Like. Yes, that's effective for.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

There is no limit. Jill.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. People are coming. Are they also shopping?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

They are, because, you know, we're impulse buyers. People, you know, Once you see it, okay, it's hard. It's hard to walk away from whatever it is. That shiny thing in the corner of your eye. You may have come in for a book signing. You may have come in to listen to someone talk and then it's like, what's over there? Now we've got you a little trick. Come on in. Like, oh, I'm just gonna get this little thing. No big deal. Oh, they have this too. Oh, I didn't even know that. Yeah, that's it.

[Jo Manoff]

Going back to the age Thing we hear a lot about, like, everyone that's Gen Z just wants to be an influencer. I'm hearing that, like, retail. When I was like a teen, like, all I wanted to do was work in retail. But, like, for some, it's, like, lost its luster and they're not as, like, intrigued. Like, are you seeing in terms of, like, the new hires and the new. Are you sensing any of that? Like, is Gen Z excited?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, my gosh. Gen Z. I want to be like Gen Z. I want to be like Gen Z. They are amazing, okay? They. I mean, they're so different from us. They really are. They will not handle things the way that we handle them. You know, I see all the memes and videos about how we can get hit by a truck and we'll shake it off. Like, oh, no, it's fine. I have to go to work. Okay. Gen Z, not Gen Z. Okay. No way. Eight hours a day. Oh, no, absolutely not. You have to make it worth their while. You find yourself negotiating, you know, okay, maybe you can do this many hours on these days, you know, maybe you'll be on this part of the floor instead of the part you don't like.

[Jo Manoff]

I was going to ask about turnover in general, but maybe that also is age specific.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It is because Gen Z will turn around immediately. They could have got hired today. You will turn around and they are gone. What happens? Like, oh, no, I wasn't feeling it.

[Jo Manoff]

It is.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I don't think it was an environment for me. I gotta go. You know, help us all us older millennials, we care so much about how long we've been somewhere. You know, people celebrating 20 years, 40 years at their job. That's insane to Gen Z like, you, what, you've been here for 20 years, and then they'll have a job tomorrow. How did you do that? But they're so savvy, you know, they'll just call someone, like, hey, I'd love to come work for you.

[Jo Manoff]

Because it's all about networking. They can work retail anywhere.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yeah.

[Jo Manoff]

Oh, my God.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I mean, I get that all the time. My LinkedIn gets hit up and they're like, hi, I'd love to come work for you. You know, do you need an intern? Do you. I'll just come and shadow you. You know, like, whoa, that is savvy.

[Jo Manoff]

What are you. What would so savvy you were hiring today? Like, what would be the. The elements that you'd look for? That the talents, the skills, the, I don't know, background that you would look for? In a new hire in retail on.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

The floor, I think it's a balance of that go getter attitude and then the willing to learn, you know, because they can come in with all the confidence in the world. But then that confidence can turn to arrogance really quickly. I've seen that way too much. And there, it's so important now. It's so crucial, you know, to have customers coming into the store. So you need people with personality, you need people with knowledge and people that will take on those classes. Those are those constant classes that we're going to get from all the brands. Get that knowledge in their head and put it right back out to their customers and retain clients. You know, if they can't do that, they're not going to be able to work. So you can see it in people, you know, who's going to survive and who's not, you know, because it's not for everyone. It really isn't. Some people think that they can just come and stand there and they'll be fine. You know, they'll just make money and go home, but you'll see who makes those big commissions. It's a. It's a difference in personality.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. If a retailer were hiring today, what would it take to attract you to their. To their store, to their company?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, money, Joe. Yes, money.

[Jo Manoff]

We want commission.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

We want commission. We want salaries. If we're not commission, we need great salaries.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Okay. Benefits.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

And the type of benefits you get, it's becoming more and more attractive. I'm seeing pet care. Jill.

[Jo Manoff]

Dang.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

They're doing pet care now.

[Jo Manoff]

This is next level.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You got the gym membership. You have. You have a mental health. Oh, my gosh. They're giving you therapists. Like you have a therapist tacked on to your benefits for free. So. Sure. You need to see a therapist, pick from one of these.

[Jo Manoff]

So nice.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You want people to come. Come work for you. Yeah. You pull out all the stops.

[Jo Manoff]

That's amazing. That's amazing. And that's. It's becoming more common.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yes. And being very transparent, too. I feel like, you know, we're scrolling past those jobs that aren't putting up the salary we don't want to see. Oh, it's competitive. Okay.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah.

[Jo Manoff]

Is there a range, Is there a range that you look for?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Right, yeah, there's a range that I look for. Absolutely. And I know it depends, you know, on what the position is. It has to be in the right range for that position because at this point, you know, I've done so many different things. You're not going to come at me with a small range for a job that I know has a lot of responsibility. We're not going to play those little games anymore. No, no, no. You're not getting Gen Z with that either.

[Jo Manoff]

Can you share the low, low end with the.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh my Gosh, I've seen 30k for management jobs. No, no, no. And then when they end up with like, you know, the high school or fresh college student, then they're upset. But I mean, who in their 30s and 40s and maybe 50s is going to come in for your job for 30K?

[Jo Manoff]

Right. That's why.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Especially in New York.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Are they. Do they have 10 roommates? Like, who is living on that? Yeah, it's insane.

[Jo Manoff]

Is it the higher end of the store, the more that they pay? Or that's just. No, I think it is.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yeah, it's the higher end. Yeah. Certain. Certain areas pay more. Certain stores pay more. Yeah. And then, you know, you kind of have to feel it out based on commission versus your hourly or if your salary is worth it. Because you may see a salary and think, okay, they're offering 70k, 75k. But then, you know, maybe your associates will end up making more money than you because. Yeah, because of their commissions.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Wow. That happens too. You know, I've seen a lot of managers stay on the sales floor like, okay, wait, I did something wrong because they make more money than me and I can't do this.

[Jo Manoff]

Maybe you'd be looking at a 75,000 potentially, depending on the benefits, depending on the commission. What kind of a commission do you. Are you looking for? And yes. Is that kind of the average pay in this position?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

I think the norm for a lot of the stores, especially the big stores, is a 5% commission to 9% depending on what you're selling. Yeah. So beauty is typically 5% and then you can go to 9% for leather goods. Yeah. Bags and shoes. Salary jobs are typically manager jobs. So if you're looking at a salary for a manager, you want to be 75 all the way to. In the six figures, depending on what your role is, if you're doing the entire department, if you're an assistant, if you're, you know, just counter. All of that is important. So you weigh your options. Yeah. But you're not looking for the low balls. Yeah. If you're a manager, you don't want to see anything close to what you would be making, you know, as an associate, aside from commission.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes, totally.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

And as an associate, you want the best potential for yourself. So when you're looking at salaries, I mean, I'm sorry, hourlies that are in the 20s, a lot of the stores, all the high end stores even, they're, they're all in the 20s, $25, $26, you know, $22. But then you weigh that against the percentage of commission that you're going to get and figure how well you work on the floor, where you're going to end up.

[Jo Manoff]

Did you figure it out pretty quickly that you could earn much more via commission than $26 an hour?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yeah, because I mean, if you're $26 an hour, but then you're 6, 7% commission and the items that you're selling are in the high hundreds to thousands, then you can figure how much you're used to selling per month. You can walk away with your desired salary. Like, I know that I can do 80, I know I can do 90. It just depends on you and what you're selling. And if you get into the store and it's, it's not working out. Told you, I told you about Gen Z already.

[Jo Manoff]

Is it as transparent as where some of your employee employers are talking to you about, you know, I don't know, enjoy this traffic now. We're expecting a slow holiday or like, do they talk to you about that kind of stuff? Like the expectations based on the economy and what we're seeing about consumer behavior, Is that discussed?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It's not discussed in that way. They don't discuss in the negative. You'll never hear them say, you know, we're expecting it to be slow. No, it's more about, you know, what are we going to do to make this goal? And then you may say, ooh, that might be tough because it's going to be a little slow.

[Jo Manoff]

Better have a book signing.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You know, you're pulling out all the stops, like, okay, what can we do? Because I don't know if we're going to be able to make that. But yeah, you just figure it out. You find all kinds of ways to get people in that door because once they're in the door, I mean, the product is there, the service is there. Now it's up to them and their wallets.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. Is there any, are there any certain, like data points you look at? Is it just about sales in general? Back in the day it was like about, I don't think we called it like the size of the cart, but like upsell or like multiples. We talked about multiples when I worked in retail.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Okay, like KPIs.

[Jo Manoff]

Yes. Like the number, like, get them to buy a second item if they buy one item. But. Yeah. What are you looking for? Yeah, KPIs. Exactly.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the goal is always three. You always want to look at it as, you know, that's the goal. You want to be able to say that customers walked away with three items, but. Yeah. So if they're walking away with two. Yeah, you feel pretty good about that. But three is. That's great. That's where you want to be at. You want to be at three one's.

[Jo Manoff]

Okay, we'll take it.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

If it's one, it's a big one.

[Jo Manoff]

Yeah.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Okay. Because not only are you trying to make a sales goal, but you're trying to get your customer to have the best experience each time. So when you're looking at it and this person purchased more, that says a lot. Then, you know, everybody you had just had one. It's like, goodness. We couldn't. What happened there? We couldn't talk to them about anything else. Nothing. Want a little hand lotion? Something body wash?

[Jo Manoff]

Oh, my gosh. I have to end our interview with some fun. A fun question. What. What fragrance is a hot, hot item right now? What are you loving?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, my gosh. I'm loving so many things. I mean, I've had some favorites for a while now, but there's some brands that are really piquing my interest right now. They're hot. Like, I love. Or may.

[Jo Manoff]

Oh.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. The Mother Son duo and Baptiste came into the store one day, and we met him. He was amazing. You know, we really got to dive deep. Everything has a story. The bottles are just gorgeous to look at because he's an artist. So there's Orme. Yeah. Veronika By. I can't say enough about her. I'm obsessed, okay. All the time. Like, just adopt me. I don't understand why it's taking so long. It should be one of your children. Every single. Not a miss in the bunch. Okay. Amazing. And she just won Independent Fragrance of the year for this gem here, Delise Dubois. Her bottles are beautiful, gorgeous.

[Jo Manoff]

And when they come into the store, you have these personal stories about meeting them. And you can maybe. When you share that with the customer, does that help to clinch the sale?

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

It always helps. It always helps because it's like a peek behind the curtain. You know, they always ask you, like, what's your favorite? What do people like? What's the most popular? You know? So you want to find out from them what they like so that you can get them the right thing, but then you drop your little gems, like, yeah, you know, we meet. We've met Veronique. We know Veronique. She comes in. You know, her fragrances are here because they're amazing quality. You know, this is what she specializes in. This is what she likes, and it's like, ooh, they want to be a part of it. You know, Chris Collins fragrances are amazing, you know, and people love him because he's just. He's stunning himself, you know, and people knew him because he used to model the 90s. So you think of Tyson, Beckford, Naomi, Chris Collins, you know, so when people see the fragrance, it's like, oh, I think I know him. Or if they don't know him, then you can tell the story. Now they're intrigued. You know, he's good at boozy fragrances. He's great with. With rich fragrances. So you can have something from a tea to a cognac dealing with him. Yeah.

[Jo Manoff]

Oh, there's a reason you're so good at your job. I'm like, oh, I want to try that.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, yeah. It makes you want to try things. You just want to jump in there and try anything. Give it to me.

[Jo Manoff]

Totally. Oh, my gosh. Patience. You are just so fun. I'm like, we need to find an excuse to have you back. Thank you.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

You don't need an excuse. Just call me. I'll come.

[Jo Manoff]

Oh, my gosh. Well, thank you for being here, for taking the time for us. This was so fun.

[Patience Anway Lampd Battle]

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Definitely.

[Jo Manoff]

That's all for this episode. Our theme music is by Otis McDonald. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with someone else you think would. Thanks for listening to the Glossy podcast.