SYDNEY – Thursday, 5 February 2015: Global recruitment firm Michael Page has announced Richard Barrett, Senior Director of Retail Oceania for Ralph Lauren the winner of the Retail Executive Award for 2015. Mr Barrett has won an exclusive place on the 2015 Westfield World Retail Study Tour where he will spend two weeks immersed in five world-class retail destinations: New York, London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Tokyo.Announcing Mr. Barrett as the winner, Richard Wynn, former Regional Director of Michael Page Retail, said: “Over the last couple of years we have had a lot of applicants from the food and consumables sectors, but this year we saw an increase in applicants from fashion and apparel. The fashion sector has gone through some turbulent times over the past 24 months, with local fashion businesses disappearing from the high street, whilst others have appeared from overseas. Therefore, the senior executives of apparel business across Australia have really stepped up their game, their strategy and their execution – and now have a great story to tell.”The award is testament to Mr Barrett’s energy, passion and belief in the Ralph Lauren brand in the Australian market. His achievements have only been made possible by a great synergy between all areas of the Ralph Lauren business, focussing on end-to-end customer-centric solutions, improved product training and great store managers.On being named the 2015 Michael Page Retail Executive of the Year award, Mr Barrett said: “I’m still in shock – it is an amazing award. It will be sensational to go away with a diverse group of people and see some of the iconic cities in the world. I’m looking forward to experiencing the service proposition of different retailers across the globe on the tour.” Mr Barrett started his retail career working as a sales assistant and within six years he was appointed store manager. He has held senior retail positions in both the UK and Australia, including Store Manager of David Jones Bondi Junction and Head of Retail Homewares, Travel, Stationery and The Gallery at Harrods. Mr Barrett has been with Ralph Lauren in Australia for 16 months.“We were initially attracted to the humble nature of Richard’s application as he talked a lot about what his team was doing rather than his own personal achievements,” says Mr Wynn. “This is the same people-first approach that is driving Ralph Lauren’s success in the local market.”The Westfield World Retail Study Tour is a coveted learning experience for retail professionals, which presents the opportunity for winners to learn from internationally renowned retail businesses around the world.
