MA Global Fashion Retailing

College

LCF

Start date

September 2021

Course length

12 months

Apply View open days

This dynamic global fashion retailing course is for students aspiring to enter a career in omnichannel fashion retailing, to shape current and future international fashion retailing strategy and operations.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

Specialist course: this is one of the very few specialist Fashion Retail Management Masters courses available.
Balanced curriculum: this course bridges the gap between management and creativity, and balances academic theory with practice.
Industry links: the industry integration drives relevancy and dynamism.
Employability opportunities: the course has strong employability opportunities on graduation, and an industry reputation for relevance.

Location

The course is based at High Holborn. Find out about the local area, including Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Clerkenwell, in our local area guides on the Student Life pages.

London College of Fashion is planning to move to a new single campus on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2023. This is part of a new development for London, prioritising culture, education and innovation, known as East Bank. Some students studying this course from September 2021 may start their studies in Lime Grove and transfer to LCF’s new site in East London to complete them. Please see LCF’s move to the Olympic Park for more information about the College’s relocation.

Course trips

Fashion Retail Management students visit Gentle Monster's flagship
Fashion Retail Management students have breakfast at MatchesFashion Townhouse
Fashion Retail Management students visit the Shop at Bluebird with the Brand Director
Group of 15 students visited Arket Flagship store at Regent Street on 30th April 2018. The trip aligns with the Creative Retail Spaces and International Retail Strategies units. The group met Shaula and Antonio – Visual Team Leads at Arket. They provided in-depth insight into brand’s DNA, their ideology, how sustainability drives their smallest actions from store to the café inside each store.
The trip was very insightful, the team was very organised and well prepared to answer each an every question. They covered all aspects of their brand right from store to production to buying and expansion strategies. The small activity in the end revolving around VM was fun! – Deepali Singh
Students went to visit Galleria Melissa’s store in Covent Garden, London on Friday, 15 March 2018 to observe what innovations are they currently doing. This visit is very much in coherence and relatable to a unit we are currently studying, which is Creative Retail Spaces.
Students went to an exclusive talk and tour of luxury brand Longchamp’s London flagship store on Regent street, for 20 MA Fashion Retail Management students - 27 Feburary 2018.
“It was good to learn about the importance of the flagship store in branding. It was interesting to hear about about the brand’s approach to store design” Maryam
A field trip to Superdry was organised on March 25 2018. The tour was conducted by the Retail General Manager, the Area Manager of Greater London and also by head office based heads of category for men’s and women’s business. The visit was in coherence to our course and especially International Retailing strategies.
“The Superdry Store on Regent Street has a very unique retail strategy owing to its strategic location. The visit helped us understand how vital such an adaptation is considering store location, and customer profile; it changes the product assortment, pricing strategy, VM strategy, customer service, staffing requirements and other in-Store offerings.” Aditi Aggarwal
“Exploring galleria melissa was essentially taking a step into the future of retail. It was very insightful to see the innovative aspects surrounding retailing today, and how these may influence purchasing behaviour as well as customer experience. My personal favourite was the educational aspect to the store- as you could touch the raw materials used to make the end product.” –Maneka Knowle
Course leader Bethan Alexander presenting at Advance HE conference
Students visit the Anya Hindmarch weave project
MA Fashion Retail Management students on their study trip to Italy
Students attend a breakfast with Mary Portas
Students visit Shop at the Bluebird
Students visit Wolf & Badger

Course projects gallery

Students responded to a brief from design agency Checkland Kindleysides. The brief centered around creative third-space experiences in store. A grower’s greenhouse for The Body Shop was chosen as the winning project.
Students responded to a brief from design agency Checkland Kindleysides. The brief centered around creative third-space experiences in store. A grower’s greenhouse for The Body Shop was chosen as the winning project.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students responded to a brief from Diesel to redefine the face of their flagship store in Covent Garden. They had to consider external and internal store elements to create the ultimate brand experience.
Students attend 7th International workshop on Luxury Retail, Operations and Supply Chain Management, at Milan Politecnico Conference
Student presenting at Milan Politecnico Conference
Directors from Karen Millen, Farfetch, Javelin and Pragma retail consultancies
Keynote speaker - SVP Global Product and Marketing, Crocs - Michelle Poole
Student presenting their Checkland Kindleysides 2019 project
Students presenting their Checkland Kindleysides 2019 project
Students presenting their Checkland Kindleysides 2019 project

MA Fashion Retail Management at LCF

What brands are students working with on the MA Fashion Retail Management at London College of Fashion, and what have they learnt from these experiences?

Students of MA Fashion Retail Management speak about the course at London College of Fashion

MA Fashion Retail Management Alumni Film

About MA Fashion Retail Management

Students give an in-depth view into the course

Facilities

Library, John Princes Street Photography by: Ideal Insight

LCF library and archives

Take a tour of LCF's world renowned fashion library, ideal for research and study.

Business facilities at JPS and High Holborn

Business facilities at High Holborn

Take a tour of lecture theatres and tutorial rooms across our central London sites.

LCF's social spaces

Explore our social spaces, for collaborative study and breaks, across our six sites in London.

MA Global Fashion Retailing students collaborate with Checkland Kindleysides

Teams of LCF MA Global Fashion Retailing students collaborated with Checkland Kindleysides to develop innovative, strategic design proposals for a new Adidas Originals service, concept space or experience.
#LCFClassOf2020 London College of Fashion Celebrates Class of 2020 with Digital Takeover

#LCFClassOf2020 is a dedicated showcase of LCF graduate work across channels. The takeover will lead into the launch of the world’s largest digital platform of fashion, design, communication, art and performance graduates.
Mentoring Melding: The Postgraduate Network

Bethan Alexander, Senior Teaching Scholar, Course Leader in MA Global Fashion Retailing and Research Fellow at London College of Fashion, launched a two year mentoring network for students, spanning various disciplines within retail management.
LCF welcomes Professor Roni Brown as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of London College of Fashion

LCF is delighted to announce that Professor Roni Brown has been appointed UAL Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of College at London College of Fashion.
URBAN GILT: industry perspective on the Collaborative Unit

Lisa Moore from URBAN GILT shares her impressions on working with LCF postgrad students in the Collaborative Unit.
See all stories

Course overview

MA Global Fashion Retailing is a dynamic and academically rigorous course, equipping you with the knowledge, skills and capabilities demanded by fashion retailers operating in an increasingly competitive, complex and unpredictable global environment.

You will apply curiosity, inquiry, creativity and criticality through the synthesis of theoretical and practical approaches to learning. You will demonstrate the ability, knowledge and competencies to be effective and responsible leaders in the rapidly changing global fashion retail industry. Throughout the course you will develop skills in teamwork, communication, problem-solving and decision-making through independent judgment and critical self-awareness, working effectively both individually and collaboratively as a team.

With rigorous research underpinning the curriculum, you will explore and examine retail strategy and operations, internationalisation, brand management, consumer insights, responsible retailing, retail analytics, omnichannel retailing and creative retail futures, with a focus on sustainability, innovation and disruption within the retail business.

The course structure provides you with the opportunity to personalise your learning. The specialisms are tailored to your interests and career aspirations. The course is industry anchored, with guest speakers, and live projects embedded into the teaching and learning, ensuring course saliency whilst enhancing your employability.

Contact us

For queries relating to the Coronavirus outbreak, read our Coronavirus guidance for prospective students.

To register your interest and receive information and updates about studying at UAL, please complete this form.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for or to ask a question, please contact us.

Course dates

Please note that course dates have been revised for 2020/21 due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Autumn term:

Monday 19 October 2020 – Friday 18 December 2020

Spring term:

Monday 11 January 2021 – Friday 26 March 20211

Summer term:

Monday 12 April 2021 – End dates TBC

Course units

Collaborative Challenge (20 credits)
Retail Strategy and Operations (20 credits)
Brand Management and Consumer Insights (20 credits)
Research Proposal (20 credits)
Creative Retail Futures (20 credits)
Advanced Retail Business (20 credits)
Masters Project (60 credits)

Learning and teaching methods

The use of a range of case studies, simulations, role play, industry projects, debates, discussions, presentations, peer learning and reflexive practice are used throughout the course to encourage criticality and self-directedness.

The range of blended learning methods include:

Action learning – students learn from each other and interactions with academics and experts, and engage in shared learning through reflection and effective questioning
Online forum discussions and other forms of digital communication tools through Moodle
Project-based learning – through industry projects, simulations, role play, scenarios and case studies
Alumni and industry engagement to provide relevant industry insights
Collaborative group projects and team activities using blogs and cloud technologies to capture the team working activities
Peer critiques to enhance resilience, confidence, interpersonal skills and team learning
Activities like Hackathons and Symposiums, to scaffold students’ Master level academic study skills, learning and networks

These learning methods are delivered through a combination of teaching approaches: both face-to-face and online, lectures, seminars, workshops, group and individual tutorials. In addition to the course team, the teaching and learning aligns with LCF’s research centres, leveraging their expertise in aspects of curriculum delivery.

Assessment methods

Written strategy reports, critical essays, case study analysis and solutions
Visual essays, digital presentation and supporting visual material
Group presentations
Literature reviews and evaluations
Planning, conducting and managing projects

Final summative assessments are supported by a range of formative, holistic feedback points: peer assessment, group and individual critiques and tutorials.

Collaborative practice is encouraged alongside one-to-one provision as valued principles of MA study. Individual development and progression is monitored through face-to-face and online tutorials which are also a first contact for pastoral support. The Language Centre and Academic Support departments are also integrated into the curriculum, enhancing our quality of learning.

Staff

Bethan Alexander

Rosemary Varley

Julie O'Sullivan

Bethan Alexander is the course leader for MA Fashion Retail Management. Bethan is a passionate spokesperson, senior lecturer and researcher with an expert lens on fashion business strategy, omnichannel retailing, retail futures and fashion brand management. Having spent 18 years working internationally in senior management roles with fashion brands including Converse, Elle, Kangol and establishing her own consultancy business, Brand Baker, Bethan brings the same verve to her academic role. Within Higher Education, Bethan has held senior lecturing positions at London College of Fashion, University of East London and has guest lectured at more than 15 global HE institutions. Bethan is a published author, international conference presenter and active researcher. Her research spans Multi-Sensory Fashion Retailing, Customer Brand Experiences Online and Offline and Innovative Retail Formats. Bethan holds a first-class Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Product Management, a Master of Science degree with distinction in Fashion Marketing & Distribution and a PG Certificate in Teaching & Learning for Higher Education. Bethan is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She successfully achieved a UAL Teaching Scholars Award in 2018 and was recognised in 2015, 2016 and 2018 by students for a Teaching Excellence Award. Read Bethan Alexander's full profile here.

Shuyu Lin’s expertise lies in value creation and appropriation in the fashion ecosystem. Her research aims to extend the application of network-based strategic management and social capital theories to the discipline of aesthetic innovation. Exploring both structural and relational mechanism in open innovation has been at the centre of her research interest. Following a BA in Journalism, Shuyu pursued her career in the fashion industry as a PR consultant and fashion editor. She then received the degree of MSc in Management with Marketing and PhD in Management from the University of Bath.

Dr Mirsini Trigoni holds a first class BA degree in Interior Design, Decoration and Product Design. She completed a MA degree in Art in Architecture and a PhD in set design, target audiences and visual communication. She has worked as an interior designer and display designer in Athens and in London. Her expertise lies in the field of interior design and visual communication, the relationship between commercial spaces and target audiences: how to use retail design, display design and visual merchandising so as to effectively target market segments and enhance a brand and its identity. Since 2009 she has been teaching at the University of the Arts on both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her current research interests are: retail design, display design, visual merchandising, branding, media and visual communication- visual persuasion Mirsini teaches on the Creative Retail Spaces Unit for MA Fashion Retail Management.

Dr Ana Roncha is course director for the MA in Strategic Fashion Marketing at the London College of Fashion and lectures in the fields of Fashion Business Strategies, Strategic Branding, Marketing Communications and Marketing Management across the BA’s, MA’s and MBA’s. An experienced creative and strategic thinker with more than 12 years specialising in strategic marketing and brand development for the fashion and lifestyle industries. Experience working with established international brands, start up community, academia, international and regional organisations. Ana has a post-doctoral research fellowship in Enterprise and Innovation and her research has been published in academic journals and featured in conferences worldwide. She holds a PhD in Design and Marketing Management for the Fashion Industry and previous degrees in Communication. Ana teaches on the Fashion Branding Unit for MA Fashion Retail Management.

Rosemary Varley teaches on the Fashion Retail Management Unit for MA Fashion Retail Management. Rosemary has 20 years' experience in Higher Education and has taught broadly in the areas of retailing and fashion management, including marketing strategy and supply chain management. She is also interested in sustainable fashion. View Rosemary Varley's full profile here.

Julie O’Sullivan is course leader for LCF MBA and has extensive cross-sector industry senior management experience, including the luxury sector as the merchandise manager for Gucci in the UK. She was a partner in an award-winning commercial photography business. She has an MBA. Her career in higher education began as the business development manager for the Creative Industries at Brighton University. She developed knowledge exchange opportunities with SME’s and business entrepreneurs across fashion, e-marketing, photography and digital television. She has over 14 years of higher education course leader and teaching experience, developing and delivering fashion business curriculum. She delivers across a number of courses in the Fashion Business School; including PG Cert Buying and Merchandising, MA Strategic Fashion Marketing, MA Fashion Retail Management, MSc Cosmetic Science and BA Buying and Merchandising. Specialisms include Buying and Merchandising, Sourcing and Supply Chain Management, Business Strategy and Strategic Market Development. Julie is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was nominated in 2016 by students for a Teaching Award – Highly Recommended. View Julie O'Sullivan's full profile here.

How to apply

Opportunities for all

We are committed to making university education an achievable option for a wider range of people and to supporting all of our students in achieving their potential both during and after their courses.

We welcome applications from people with disabilities. If you have a disability (e.g. mobility difficulties, sensory impairments, medical or mental health conditions or Asperger’s syndrome) we strongly encourage you to contact us on disability@arts.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7514 6156 so that we can plan the right support for you. All enquiries are treated confidentially. To find out more, visit our Disability & Dyslexia webpages.

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

An Honours degree at 2.1 or above in a related discipline
OR Equivalent qualifications;

APEL (Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning)

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

Related academic or work experience (minimum of three years)
The quality of the personal statement
A strong academic or other professional reference
OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in every case.

English Language Requirements

IELTS level 7.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Please check our main English Language Requirements.

Selection criteria

The course seeks to recruit students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and welcomes applications from mature students.

The course team seeks to recruit students who can demonstrate:

the potential to develop their practical and critical abilities through academic study;
critical knowledge of a subject area;
a capacity for intellectual enquiry and reflective thought;
an openness to new ideas and a willingness to participate actively in their own intellectual development;
initiative with a developed and mature attitude to independent study.

Extra information required for applications to this course

Your application form must be supported by the following 3 documents:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A full CV to include your full education and employment history.

2. Masters Project proposal

You should outline a proposal for a research topic you would be interested in completing as your Masters Project. Your proposal should include the following:

A title
Rationale (reason for interest in topic)
Overall aim of research
A brief outline of methodology
References/bibliography

Your proposal should be a maximum of 500 words +/-10% (excluding references/bibliography).

3. Personal Statement

You should communicate your motivation for studying this course in no more than 500 words. You should use the following questions as a guide:

Why do you want to study for this MA?
What are your main areas of research interest and how do they fit with the structure of this course?

Portfolio

There is no requirement to submit a portfolio for this course. However, if you wish to include a portfolio or other evidence to support your application, a digital portfolio may be submitted by providing a URL at the end of your Personal Statement.

Making your application

We are no longer accepting applications for 2020/21 entry to this course. Applications for 2021/22 entry will open in Autumn 2020.

This section includes all the information you need on how to apply and how your application is considered, and what happens next.

UK/EU students can apply to a postgraduate course at LCF by completing a direct application.

Deferring your place

This course allows offer holders to defer. If you have an offer of a place, but you would like to defer starting for a year, please contact our Admissions Service as soon as possible via your UAL Portal. Make sure you check our Admissions Policy before requesting a deferral.

If you are an EU offer holder, it is important to consider that, from 2021-22, you may be charged International fees, which are higher.

External Student Transfer Policy

If you are currently studying at another institution and if you have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current PG course and wish to continue your studies at London College of Fashion, you can apply to transfer. The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible. Further information can be found in our UAL External Student Transfer Policy.

What happens next

All application forms, personal statements and relevant documents are read and considered by the course team against the selection criteria listed in the Entry requirements and Selection Criteria sections. The course team will select applicants to attend an interview. Interviews may be conducted in person, via telephone or via Skype.

If you are successful at the interview stage you will be offered a place. Please note that applicants are not guaranteed an interview.

Please note that if you are unable to attend, the College may not be able to re-schedule.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

The result of your application will be communicated to you through your UAL Portal. If your application has been successful, you will receive a full offer pack including details of accommodation, fees, and other important information.

We are no longer accepting applications for 2020/21 entry to this course. Applications for 2021/22 entry will open in Autumn 2020.

There are two ways international students can apply to a postgraduate course at LCF:

Through one of our official representatives in your country
A direct application.

For further advice on how to apply please visit the UAL International Application page.

Application deadline

We recommend you apply by 28^th February 2020 for equal consideration. However this course will consider applications after that date, subject to places being available.

Deferring your place

External Student Transfer Policy

What happens next

If you are successful at the interview stage you will be offered a place. Please note that applicants are not guaranteed an interview.

Please note that if you are unable to attend, the College may not be able to re-schedule.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

After you apply

After you’ve submitted your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We’ll use this Portal to contact you to request any additional information, including inviting you to upload documents or book an interview, so please check it regularly.

Once we’ve reviewed and assessed your application, we’ll contact you via the UAL Portal to let you know whether your application has been successful.

Fees and funding

Home / EU fee

£11,220

This applies for the 2020/21 academic year.

Course fees may be paid in instalments.

International fee

£22,920

This applies for the 2020/21 academic year.

Course fees may be paid in instalments.

Additional costs

In addition to tuition fees you are very likely to incur additional costs such as travel expenses and the cost of materials. Please read the information on our additional costs page.

Charges may be made for special clothing or equipment which students may need in order to participate in certain activities which form part of the course but which they retain. However, where such clothing or equipment is necessary for the student’s health or safety a charge may only be made for clothing and equipment which the student retains if the student also has the option of borrowing the clothing or equipment free of charge.

Accommodation

Find out about the accommodation options available and how much they will cost.

Progression discount

UAL alumni can receive a 20% tuition fee discount on a taught Masters course at UAL. Visit the progression discount page to find out more.

Scholarships and awards

There are a number of scholarships and awards available to students on this course. Use our search tool to find out more information.

Loans

Postgraduate loans of up to £10,000 are now available for eligible UK and EU students. A full list of eligibility criteria and information on applying can be found on the postgraduate loans webpage.

Scholarship search

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Careers and alumni

All our postgraduate courses offer career development, so that you become a creative thinker, making effective contributions to your relevant sector of the fashion industry.

LCF offers students the opportunity to develop Personal and Professional Development (PPD) skills while studying through:
Access to to speaker programmes and events featuring alumni and industry.
Access to careers activities, such as CV clinics and one-to-one advice sessions.
Access to a graduate careers service
Access to a live jobsboard for all years.
Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Career paths

On successful completion of the MA Fashion Retail Management, graduates actively contribute to the development of retail management, whether that be in international development, brand management, buying and merchandising, store operations, research or creative direction. They will be equipped with the critical, professional and creative skills required to flourish in a range of different sectors within the retail industry from start-up businesses to multinational fashion retailers and luxury brands.

Possible graduate jobs include:

Buying and merchandising
Retail analyst
Retail strategy and insight
Business development
CRM analyst

Graduate destinations include Yoox Net A Porter, Stylus, ASOS, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Harrods, Monsoon, TM Lewin, H&M, Fendi, Coach, Louis Vuitton, LVMH, Mood Media, L’Oreal Luxe, Kering Group, Christian Dior, Fenwick, Michael Kors, Zara, Inditex, Karen Millen, John Lewis & Partners, Accessorize, May Concepts, COS, Zalando, Ebeltoft Group Retail Consultancy, King Power, Stone Gaming Platform, Trendy International Group, Hudson Holdings, Hudson’s Bay Company, Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales, Ounass, Design Republic, JW Anderson, Longchamp, Calvin Klein, 5xThinking digital consultancy, The Fashion B.A.R.N., Cartier, Fred Perry, Gaysorn Group, Toppy, Diesel, Liverpool, Jack Wills, Brush Agency, Kanjana, Selfridges, Nakama Global, G2000, Salvatore Ferragamo, C&A, The MySale Group, Stylus, American Eagle Outfitters, Comprador, Pivot Marketing Group, Global Fashion Group, More & More, American Eagle, plus entrepreneurs of own retail business start-up.

The MA also provides an excellent preparation for higher level research degrees (MPhil or PhD) in fashion related subjects, in theory or practice.

Alumni