My complete CV

With more than 31 years experience of the fashion industry, Eric Musgrave is a hugely experienced and respected professional, with a reputation that extends from the UK to Europe and beyond.

After a long career in trade magazines, he has more recently expanded his knowledge and experience through his varied consultancy work and by running a fashion and textiles trade association. With a twin passion for communicating and networking, Eric has proved himself as a charismatic leader of teams, a rare blend of creative ability and commercial nous, and a trusted confidant of many leading names in the business.

During his time with the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT), Eric raised the profile of this trade body externally, while streamlining and modernising it internally. His initiative to create an online database of textile and clothing firms that still manufacture in the UK – www.ukft.org/letsmakeithere – was widely welcomed, not least by Government ministers. An all-party parliamentary group for textiles and fashion was also brought into existence by Eric to help ensure that the industry’s voice was heard in Westminster and Whitehall.

Having been the founding editor of For Him Magazine (now FHM) in the mid-1980s, Eric was the creator of Drapers, Emap’s massively successful fashion business weekly, which was formed in October 2002 by the merger of the weekly Drapers Record (founded 1887) and the monthly Menswear (founded 1902). This merger was an unprecedented success for Emap.

Eric Musgrave was the undisputed “face” of Drapers, which is widely regarded as the bible of the fashion business. Following the creation of the strong weekly magazine, in his last 18 months with the title Eric developed and fronted significant new revenue streams for the brand, notably through its Drapers Awards and Drapers Footwear Awards (which were both hosted by Eric) and through its programme of conferences (which Eric chaired).

Under Eric’s guidance, The Drapers Awards audience at its gala dinner grew from about 450 to more than 1,100 of the most influential people from all sectors of the fashion business. The Drapers Footwear Awards dinner attracts 500+ attendees; before Eric relaunched it, only about 300 attended.

Eric Musgrave has an unrivalled network of contacts, which ranges from top retailers like Sir Philip Green and Sir Stuart Rose to leading independent retailers across the UK and Irish Republic. He also has superb contacts among fashion brands at home and across Europe. These contacts enabled Eric to host networking dinners for senior executives.

Having worked for magazines in Milan and Amsterdam, Eric has excellent international contacts and a “big picture” view of the international scene. He has travelled to Brazil, Russia, India and China to increase his knowledge of, and contacts in, the emerging “BRIC” markets.

Eric Musgrave has been a regular commentator on retail industry stories by media such as Radio 4, Radio Five Live, BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 and the press. Eric also has been a director-trustee of the trade charity Retail Trust and is a trustee-advisor to Graduate Fashion Week. He is a Freeman of The City of London and is a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers, which has close links to the footwear industry.

Eric is a confident public speaker and an inspirational builder and leader of successful teams. He blends high standards with a keen commercial sense and retains a passion for fashion and textiles.

Employment History

Jan 2011 to present Freelance writer / fashion industry consultant

Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 CEO designate (Jan-June 2010), then CEO, UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT)

UKFT was formed in late 2009 through the merger of two long-established trade bodies, the British Clothing Industry Association (BCIA) and UK Fashion Exports (UKFE). My predecessor has been with the associations for 38 years and almost all of the dozen or so staff had been there for between 15 and 30-plus years. I was appointed to bring a new approach to the association.

In a busy 12 months at UKFT, among my successes included:

Giving UKFT a new brand identity
Establishing more efficient internal systems for HR and general management
Overseeing the relocation of the business to new modern offices after 18 years in its previous location
Bringing about the successful implementation of a new, modern accounting package and membership management package
Introducing tighter financial controls, cutting costs, shrinking the lengthy bad debt list and formulating a consistent subscriptions policy for members

Externally, I gave UKFT a higher profile by:

Creating a unique online database of UK-based manufacturers of apparel textiles, clothing and components called Let’s Make It Here (See www.ukft.org/letsmakeithere)
Stimulating the formation of an all-party parliamentary group at Westminster
Improving its contacts with Government ministers and MPs

I left UKFT in early 2011 to return to writing and consulting.

Oct 2006 – Dec 2009 Freelance writer / fashion industry consultant

My written work appeared regularly in Financial Times, Property Week, The Appointment and Bespoken (the magazine of upmarket cloth merchant Scabal). I also made contributions to Business Life, Retail Week, De Vere Hotels magazine, the Bread&Butter fair magazine, Bentley magazine, among others.

My coffee-table book on men’s tailoring, SHARP SUITS, was published to considerable acclaim in September 2009.

I was also one of four partners in Quarto Advisors, a retail-focused consultancy. Barclays Bank, the American accessories company Coach, Bloomingdale’s and the UK fashion company Lipsy were among the companies we worked with.

Individually I worked as a consultant for a wide variety of fashion-related clients, including German fashion fair Premium Berlin, retail research company Brandmonitor, internet entrepreneur Quentin Griffiths, iconic British label Ben Sherman, Italian luxury footwear firm Calzoleria Rivolta, US footwear fair WSA, Turkish high street supplier GAAT, British menswear brand Duchamp, online retailer Brand Alley, London-based design consultancy i-am Associates, contract publisher Redwood Publishing, and finance company GSM.

May 2006 – Sept 2006 Director, Good Results PR

This was a short-lived adventure into PR. I soon found I missed editorial work and so went freelance.

Sept 2003 – May 2006 Editorial Director, Drapers

The main tasks were to direct the editorial strategy of the weekly title and its supplements while devising and coordinating all brand extensions, assisting commercial teams, and acting as the public figurehead of Drapers

Strong commercial success of title in tougher market (record £7m turnover and 42% profit in my final year)
Increased subscriptions (despite higher prices)
Substantially enlarged annual Drapers Awards and annual Drapers Footwear Awards
Established and chaired Drapers conferences (8x a year)
Established Drapers senior directors’ dinners (3x a year, and growing)
Extended personal contacts by visiting developing markets like China, Russia, Brazil and India
Recognised as an expert commentator on retail fashion in UK and Irish Republic
Trustee-director of trade charity Retail Trust
Drapers named Emap Communications Magazine of the Year 2004
Drapers named Emap Communications Sales Team of the Year 2004
Drapers won PPA Publisher of the Year Award 2004

Oct 2002 – Sept 2003 Editor-in-Chief, Drapers

The main task was to establish the merged Drapers Record and Menswear magazines as The Fashion Business Weekly magazine for the entire industry, to manage and motivate the merged teams, and to assist the commercial teams.

Huge financial and critical success
Named PPA Business Magazine Editor of the Year 2003
Named Emap Communications Editor of the Year 2003
Drapers won Emap Communications Relaunch of the Year 2003
Circulation increased
Ad yields increased
Drapers Record Awards and Menswear/FHM Awards merged to create The Drapers Awards
Drapers Record Footwear Awards extended
Magazine strong enough to develop brand extensions

April 2000 – Oct 2002 Editor-in-Chief, Drapers Record and Menswear

The main initial task was to put the weekly Drapers Record back on track, while stemming the losses of the monthly Menswear. The later task was to devise the editorial strategy to merge the two titles, founded in 1887 and 1902 respectively, into a well-focused, relevant and contemporary pan-industry title.

Made Drapers Record relevant again
Rebuilt credibility of Drapers Record
Halted slide of Menswear
Established myself as the leading journalist for the fashion industry
My weekly Editor’s Comment became a “must read” piece
Managed and re-motivated two editorial teams
Re-focused Drapers Record for readers and advertisers
Increased footwear coverage
Increased international show coverage
Improved production processes
Improved Drapers Record Awards’ standing in industry

March 1998 – April 2000 Event Manager, Menswear Exchange London

(Emap’s bi-annual menswear show)

The main task was to devise the strategy for this trade exhibition and to direct its sales team in the face of keen competition from Emap’s own 40° and from foreign shows.

Proved my capacity for selling
Increased my commercial knowledge
Brought credibility to a poorly regarded event
Increased my contacts across Europe and US
Managed a sales team

June 1996 – March 1998 Associate Publisher, fw (formerly Fashion Weekly)

Brand Manager, 40° (Emap’s jeanswear show)

In this twin role I directed the editorial and advertising activity of fw, an eight-times-a-year magazine aimed at the jeans and casualwear market, while also assisting the selling operation on 40°, Emap’s show that was aimed at the same sector.

Developed a highly regarded editorial concept for fw
Managed & motivated inexperienced young teams on fw
Brought credibility to Emap in shows, jeanswear
Influenced wider Emap Fashion strategy
Gained more experience in selling space at show
Drove benefits of links between show and magazine

May 1994 – Jan 96 Deputy Editor, Sportswear International

(top European magazine for the jeanswear sector, based in Milan)

Having been the UK contributor for the title for seven years, I helped move the magazine forward under its new owner, Deutscher Fachverlag, the large German publisher, which brought me in to support an inexperienced editor.

Increased experience of the European market
Increased understanding of international business
Extended my credentials and reputation across Europe

Jan 1991 – May 1994 Freelance journalist, working for Sportswear International, Textile View (Amsterdam), Vogue, Esquire, The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday, Financial Times, among others

I worked as a writer and a sub-editor in both the B2B and consumer sectors, as well as doing some contract publishing and PR.

Dec 1989 – Dec 1990 Editor, For Him Magazine (now known as FHM)

At the time For Him Magazine was a six-times-a-year newsstand title. Privately owned, it was well-regarded, but under-funded

Extended For Him’s reputation against larger rivals
Increased knowledge of commercial aspects of publishing

Feb 1988 – June 1989 Editor, Fashion Weekly

Fashion Weekly was the independently-owned rival to the much bigger Drapers Record and Men’s Wear. It was in severe trouble when I took over; the turnaround I achieved was so successful that Drapers Record/Men’s Wear owner Thomson Magazines bought the title.

Established my credentials as a weekly B2B editor
Increased my contacts in UK and Europe
Saved Fashion Weekly from going under
Developed a well-motivated team from scratch
Developed a co-ordinated strategy with commercial team
Produced an entertaining as well as informative product

June 1986 – Oct 1987 Managing Editor, International Textiles

(a tri-lingual fashion forecasting magazine based in Amsterdam)

I ran the editorial office of this long-established and well-respected trade monthly in the frequent absence of the editor.

Extended my knowledge of fashion industry
Built up contacts outside the UK
Began to build my personal reputation outside the UK
Improved production processes and editorial standards

March 1984 – May 1986 Editor, MAB News (a menswear trade title) Launch Editor, For Him Magazine (launched April 1985, now FHM)

MAB News was a privately-owned B2B magazine that competed with the much larger Men’s Wear. In spring 1985 the very small company launched For Him, one of the first style magazines for men

My first editor’s position
Extended my reputation in the fashion industry
First experience of developing and launching a new title
First introduction to commercial aspects of publishing
Helped begin the men’s style magazine sector

Feb 1982 – March 1984 Deputy Editor, Men’s Wear

As deputy editor of this weekly B2B title, I was involved in all aspects of producing a news-led magazine.

Improved Men’s Wear’s standards and its standing
Established myself as a “name” in menswear industry
Extended skills in leading a team

Jan 1980 – Feb 1982 Reporter, then News Editor, Drapers Record

I started as a news and feature writer on the fashion industry’s pre-eminent news-led B2B title and was promoted to news editor

Began to establish my reputation with fashion business
Began to be a team leader

Education

BA Honours in History (University of Hull)

4 A-Levels, 6 O-Levels (Leeds Central High School for Boys)

Contact

Eric Musgrave

+44-7702 628848

eric@ericmusgrave.co.uk

Skype: eric.musgrave55