Retail marketing guru Mary Portas is probably the United Kingdoms foremost authority on retail and brand communication. As Creative Director at London’s most respected retail branding and communications agency, Yellowdoor, Mary is recognised throughout the trade as the “Queen of Shops” and has turned round the fortunes of some of the biggest names in retail across the globe.Mary is available as a conference speaker on the subject of branding, retailing & market trends.Mary’s foresight and unique knowledge of brands, retail trends and consumer insights prompted her to launch Yellowdoor in 1997 when she saw a need for integrated and creative brand communication in the retail, fashion, luxury and beauty sectors. Under Mary’s guidance, Yellowdoor have created category challenging campaigns for a wide range of brands on the high street including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis, Swarovski, Dunhill, Boden, Thomas Pink, Miss Selfridge, and Patek Philippe.Her first book “Windows – The Art of Retail Display” published by Thames and Hudson in five languages, quickly became the worldwide authority. "How to Shop with Mary Queen of Shops" is an insider's guide to how to be a better shopper. It goes behind the scenes to show you the tricks of the trade, how to shop more efficiently, when to hit the sales, and where to shop according to your shopping 'tribe'.Mary has starred in several series of her popular BBC television series Mary Queen of Shops and the book (mentioned above) accompanied the series. She is now renowned as a national spokesperson for the retail and fashion industry appearing and talking regularly on the Today programme on Radio 4, Panorama and all national lifestyle TV shows.Marys first contact with shops came in the guise of a job as a floater at John Lewis, quite literally floating between departments on a Saturday. Her first job was designing and dressing the WAY IN windows at Harrods.She spent a year having fun designing and installing windows for fashion boutiques on the Kings Road out of the back of her Triumph Spitfire. The most famous of which included Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Maclarens shop BOY in the early eighties.Mary joined Top Shop in the mid eighties most famously putting Gary Glitter and Marilyn singing in the large windows to Oxford Street.Mary launched the new generation designer show as part of London Fashion Week when at Harvey Nichols. She brokered a deal with Jennifer Saunders to make Harvey Nichols the famous fashion empire in Absolutely Fabulous and subsequently repositioned the Harvey Nichols brand into the world renowned store and restaurant group it is today. She won the first D&AD gold for a window display and opened the first Harvey Nichols outside of London in Leeds. Mary regularly travels around the world advising on retail strategy and frequently speaks on the theme of brands and retailing.