Meet the Team: Alison Phillips, Delivery Manager

We're excited to introduce Alison Phillips, our Delivery Manager at EFI Training. With years of hands-on experience in the fashion and retail industry, Alison brings a wealth of knowledge and a real passion for helping businesses and individuals grow. She's a key part of our team and plays a huge role in shaping our learning programmes.

Alison's Background

Alison has worked in fashion and retail for over 20 years. She started her career on the shop floor and moved into buying roles for major high street brands like River Island and the Arcadia Group.

She spent more than a decade at Tesco F&F, taking on senior global buying roles where she managed large teams and multi-million pound budgets across womenswear, activewear, nightwear and babywear. Her work included launching new product categories, creating sourcing strategies, working on high-profile collaborations, and rolling out new global systems to support multi-channel buying.

After that, Alison joined Aster Textile, one of the world's top textile manufacturers, as an Account Manager. She worked closely with high-street brands like Marks & Spencer and Topshop, gaining valuable insight into product development, supplier relationships, and international production, particularly in Turkey.

In 2020, Alison began teaching the Level 3 Fashion Retail Diploma at the Fashion Retail Academy. She found real joy in supporting the next generation of talent and sharing her industry knowledge.

What Alison Does at EFI Training

As Delivery Manager, Alison leads the design and delivery of our industry-facing talent programmes. These include bespoke learning pathways, short courses, talent mapping projects and consultancy services.

She works closely with our retail partners to understand their goals and identify skills gaps. Then she helps co-create tailored learning that's innovative, engaging and designed to deliver real impact. From staffing and timetabling to onboarding and reporting, Alison ensures that every programme runs smoothly and meets a high standard.

She also created and delivers our Introduction to Fashion Buying & Merchandising short course, giving learners direct access to her extensive experience.

WHy Fashion and retail Training?

Fashion and retail have always excited Alison because they're fast-paced and constantly evolving. She believes that ongoing talent development is key to staying competitive and finds it incredibly rewarding to help both individuals and businesses grow.

The retail industry is currently going through big changes. With financial pressures and restructuring across the sector, many brands are facing new skills gaps. That's where EFI Training comes in!

How Alison Supports Brands

At EFI Training, we believe in learning that's responsive and relevant. Alison helps brands pinpoint their challenges and build programmes that meet them head on - whether that's around digital skills, leadership, merchandising or commercial thinking.

One thing that sets our approach apart is flexibility - we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Every programme is regularly reviewed, and refined based on feedback and outcomes.

Alison’s Advice to Brands

Alison advises brands to "Start with where your business is now and where you want to be, then speak to us! We’re not about off-the-shelf solutions, unless that’s what you need; we build learning that reflects your culture, goals, and values."

Investing in your people is one of the most effective ways to grow your business. We're here to make that process easy, collaborative and impactful. People feel comfortable being themselves, asking questions, and sharing ideas. That kind of environment supports genuine growth and meaningful change.

What's Your favourite Part of the job?

Alison shared how she genuinely loves seeing the impact she makes, whether it’s someone gaining confidence, a team working better together or a brand unlocking new potential. She continued to explain how building relationships with clients and seeing how learning transforms teams is incredibly fulfilling.