PHLS: Mary Portas in conversation with Viv Groskop

7pm, Thursday 2nd October

Mary Portas in conversation with Viv Groskop.

I shop Therefore I am: the psychology of retail

Mary Portas OBE is one of the UK’s most innovative and high-profile business women and sustainability activists. As a journalist and broadcaster she is perhaps most familiar to us from our TV screens as Mary, Queen of Shops – a passionate champion of local high streets and communities.

Her new book I Shop, Therefore I Am tells the remarkable story of her pivotal role in revitalising the fortunes of the Knightsbridge department store Harvey Nichols in the 1990s. Still in her 20s, she created groundbreaking window displays that drew tourists and fashionistas from far and wide. Harvey Nicks became the favoured destination of the late Princess Diana, not to mention style icons Patsy and Edina from the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. Told with her trademark wit and candour, it’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the high end of retail where she honed the skills which shaped her career.

Mary went on to form her own company, Portas, with an impressive range of global clients from Mercedes to Sainsbury’s. She has advised the government on the future of retail, developed a fashion label and created twenty-six Mary’s Living and Giving shops. The shops have raised more than £30 million for the charity Save the Children.

Viv Groskop is an award-winning comedian, writer and broadcaster. She is the author of seven books including the international best-seller How to Own the Room. Her latest book is One Ukrainian Summer which has raised over £25,000 for PEN International’s Writers at Risk programme.

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This lecture begins at 7pm. Doors will be open from 6.30pm.

BOOKS will be provided by www.primrosehillbooks.com and available to buy and have signed by the speaker after the event.

St. Mary the Virgin Primrose Hill is an Anglican church in the liberal catholic tradition. Founded in 1872 it is now celebrating its 150th anniversary. St. Mary’s has a long and proud history of supporting some of the most vulnerable in society. Part of this is running the winter homeless shelter partnered with Camden Camden Community Cold Weather Shelter (C4WS), and is proud to provide a home to the Mary’s youthwork charity which provides practical care and help to local young people at risk.

The proceeds of this evening’s event will help St. Mary’s continue its social outreach work.

Tickets

Single ticket (in-person attendance): £15/£10 concessions (OAPs, students)

Live-Streaming ticket (Watch online) ticket: £10 single lecture*

*You will be emailed a link ahead of the event, to watch the talk live-streamed via YouTube or after the event

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Booking Fee: All bookings are subject to a small booking fee which goes to Eventbrite, which provides us with this convenient online booking service.

Ticket Availability: Ticket sales will be available online until 4pm on the day of the lecture and after that, on the door, subject to availability. Online ticket sales will be available to purchase until 6pm on the date of the event.

Alternatively, you can buy tickets in person locally from Primrose Hill Books on Regent's Park Road or from our Parish Office by contacting 020 7722 3238 or by emailing office@smvph.org.uk

In the event of a SOLD OUT situation, we will run a returns waiting list and tickets will be offered on a first come basis, as they become available.

Refund Policy: We allow refunds up to one day before the event . In the event of a postponement or cancellation of the date (decided by the organisers) a refund or transfer to new date will be offered. On sold-out events, we may be able to accept refunds after this time if we have a waiting list for people awaiting return.