Dr Esther Pugh
Senior Lecturer | Leeds Beckett
Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM
Esther's research interests are fashion retail, consumer behaviour, visual merchandising, & sensory retail experiences in physical stores.
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Biography
Esther is a senior lecturer at Leeds Business School at Leeds Beckett University and the research lead for retail and consumer marketing, encouraging collaboration in research and publication across the school. She is passionate about the retail experience and extending research in this area, to encapsulate emotional, subjective and symbolic shopping. Esther's research interests are vintage, slow and circular fashion retail, consumer culture, visual merchandising, and the sensory retail experience in physical stores. Prior to entering the academic world, Esther was in charge of visual merchandising for global fashion retail brands, Oasis and Coast. Esther has also run her own vintage fashion business and continues to maintain a keen interest in vintage fashion, the circular economy and sustainable lifestyles.
Currently, Esther is researching vintage fashion pricing, the role of British Vogue in shaping the Slow Fashion agenda, ‘what academics wear’ and the role of mirrors in physical fashion and beauty shopping spaces. She is publishing from her PhD the conceptual contribution ‘Spatial Fabric’ and her innovative participative smartphone photographic methodology.
Esther extends learning beyond the classroom into the world of retail, marketing and business with real organisations and real live problems. Her extended network is always brought in to support the students with real projects, assignments and the opportunity to engage externally with future potential employers. This develops students’ transferable skills and confidence. Esther is also passionate about the students she teaches and especially their sense of belonging. She is undertaking a large and multi-departmental project with the Students’ Union, IT, wellbeing, the library, careers and admin to investigate this. By exploring the undergraduate students’ feelings about sense of belonging, Esther aims to improve wellbeing and resilience to enhance belonging, which will in turn improve student success, continuation and outcomes.
Industry Expertise (2)
Research
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (3)
Marketing
Retail
Consumers
Accomplishments (1)
Senior Fellow (professional)
2021 Advance HE.
Education (4)
Leeds Beckett University: Ph.D., Fashion Marketing 2020
Huddersfield University: PGCE, Education 2011
Leicester Polytechnic: B.A., Art History 1990
Lancaster and Morecambe College: BTEC Diploma, Art and Design 1985
Affiliations (1)
- Clapham Community Shop and Post Office : Visual Merchandising and Retail Expert
Links (6)
- University Profile
- Fashioning the Student Experience: A Day in the Life of a Business School Lecturer – Leeds Business School Blog
- All I want for Christmas...this Black Friday – Leeds Business School Blog
- Retail Store-ies: Dreams not Dresses – Leeds Business School Blog
- The Conversation Author Profile
- ORCID Profile
Languages (2)
- English
- Italian
Media Appearances (3)
Why charity shops are a winning retail experience
RTÉ online
2022-01-14
A bone china teapot, a pair of leather brogues, a poetry book, a velvet coat, an embroidered tablecloth and a saucepan. These are just a few of the things I have recently bought from charity shops, where someone else's trash became my treasure. I have also donated a big bag full of unwanted toys and games. Hopefully, my cast-offs are destined to become the precious discoveries of others too, stumbled across in a serendipitous browsing session.
Why charity shops are the best stores on the high street
The Independent online
2022-01-09
A bone china teapot, a pair of leather brogues, a poetry book, a velvet coat, an embroidered tablecloth and a saucepan. These are just a few of the things I have recently bought from charity shops – where someone else’s trash became my treasure.
Charity shops: why they beat the rest of the high street as a retail experience
QRIUS online
2022-01-08
A bone china teapot, a pair of leather brogues, a poetry book, a velvet coat, an embroidered tablecloth and a saucepan. These are just a few of the things I have recently bought from charity shops – where someone else’s trash became my treasure.
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