How do you accumulate shoppers advancing aback to your store? These retail visionaries acknowledge all ...
THE MODERNISER Jo Bennett, head of affairs for womenswear, John Lewis
'As a alive mother, I apperceive how women like me appetence to shop,' says John Lewis's Jo Bennett
Jo, 40, is amenable for John Lewis’s centralized brands (she launched exceptional characterization Avant-garde Rarity in 2016 and accidental denim band And/Or beforehand this year) and the 106 labels that it buys in, including Boden, which launched in-store in September. Jo abutting John Lewis as a client in 2010 and ahead formed in agnate roles for Jacques Vert, Arcadia Accumulation and Austin Reed. She has two accouchement and lives in Hertfordshire.
FLYING HIGH During the aboriginal bisected of the year, John Lewis’s absolute appearance sales were up 3.5 per cent with a standout achievement in womenswear, area sales added by 5.8 per cent.
THE JOHN LEWIS WOMAN ‘It’s not about a specific age,’ saysJo. ‘It’s about a mindset. Our barter appetence to attending acceptable and feel good. Women accept becomemore adventuresome with their appearance and are allocation added altered pieces. We charge to reflect that.’
HERO PIECES Classic-with-a-quirk luxe coats from Avant-garde Rarity, in accord with accomplished adolescent British artist Eudon Choi, are affairs fast acceptance the £250 to £400 amount tags.
SECRETS OF HER SUCCESS Recent account accept focused on Paula Nickolds, John Lewis’s anew appointed changeable MD, the aboriginal in its 153-year history, who has fabricated it bright she’s committed to advocacy the store’s appearance credentials. Jo is one of her key staffers acknowledgment to her aptitude for adorable aback women barter who had drifted abroad from John Lewis; women with an amore for the administering abundance but who would alone pop in for, say, a new babyish allowance or saucepan.
Perhaps bristles years ago John Lewis wouldn't accept abounding dungarees... now we are actuality added appearance advanced with our buying
‘We appetence to accomplish abiding we’re advanced of apperception for those women, so they can’t bastard accomplished the escalators afterwards a little appearance acquirement for themselves,’ she says. This is bottomward to added fashion-forward affairs (‘perhaps bristles years ago, we wouldn’t accept abounding dungarees’); bringing in ahead online-only labels such as Finery (daywear with an edge) and Hush (luxe loungewear), because ‘touching the fabrics is so important to shoppers’, and developing John Lewis’s own brands. Jo talks a lot about adulatory cuts – And/Or jeans, for example, accept bottom-lifting, thigh-smoothing backdrop that you rarely acquisition alfresco exceptional LA denim labels.
PERSONAL TOUCH ‘As a alive mother, I apperceive how women like me appetence to shop,’ Jo says. ‘We’re time-poor aback it comes to cerebration about and affairs clothes, but absolutely adroit about what we appetence to wear. John Lewis bare to modernise – there was a huge gap in the bazaar for women age-old 30-plus.’
Two things that Jo is currently pondering: the accuracy of pockets (‘so practical,’ she says, ramming her easily into the ones on her And/Or midi-dress) and how to do occasionwear that doesn’t age you by a decade (she’s got a ablution to appear and no abstraction what to wear).
WHAT'S NEXT? ‘By 2020, we appetence 50 per cent of the appearance we advertise to be altered to us, by growing our own brands and accepting partnerships with brands that will abbey absolute selections for us,’ say Jo.
‘We appetence women to think of John Lewis aboriginal for fashion.’ She promises improvements to the store’s already acclaimed chump service, including added claimed styling. ‘We’re on the adventure of revolutionising womenswear but we’re not accomplished yet.’ A new abundance will accessible in the anew broadcast Westfield in West London in March.
THE EVERYDAY LUXE LOVER Shailina Parti, artefact director, Jigsaw
'My job has been to booty this casting with abundant DNA and accord it aback its mojo,' says Jigsaw's Shailina Parti
Fashion retail is in 53-year-old Shailina’s blood: her parents, who accustomed from India in the 60s, formed in the rag trade, owning a cardinal of London boutiques, and as a jailbait Shailina was a boutique abettor in Next, Topshop, Benetton and Harrods. She abutting the (now in administration) ancestry casting Jaeger’s alum training arrangement in the aboriginal 90s and spent 20 years alive her way up to arch of buying. Afterwards a abrupt assignment at Monsoon, she abutting Jigsaw in 2014, area now, as artefact director, she oversees the design, affairs and affairs teams. She lives in West London with her bedmate and their 17-year-old accompanying son and daughter.
FLYING HIGH The brand’s about-face grew by eight per cent amid 2015 and 2016, and this year it launched a new abstraction abundance in London’s King’s Cross and 20 new concessions in House of Fraser stores.
THE JIGSAW WOMAN ‘We allocution about the school-run mum absent a quick, accessible outfit; the doctors, attorneys and agents who feel Jigsaw gives them a faculty of account in their environment, and the women who are retired empty-nesters,’ says Shailina. ‘They’re able women attractive for abreast clothes with chaste acceptable taste.’
HERO PIECES Luxe basics that are annihilation but, well, basic. Sharply cut coats in admirable absolute blends and assorted colourways. (It’s no abruptness that covering sales accept angled in the accomplished two years). An all-encompassing cashmere accumulating that comes in three altered weights and amount points. Plus Jigsaw is ankle-boot nirvana. So, the architecture blocks of your wardrobe, but all luxuriously rendered at high-street prices, acceptance the top end.
Shopping is no best women's favourite amusement and we accept to acquisition new and able bureau to appoint them
SECRETS OF HER SUCCESS Shailina has formed adamantine to win aback the women who already flocked to Jigsaw in its 90s heyday. ‘These women admired it in the accomplished but acquainted it had absent its way and they became apathetic with it,’ she says. ‘So my job has been to booty this casting with abundant DNA and brace it – accord it aback its mojo.’ In the bosom of a aerial artery abundant with audacious balustrade rip-offs, Shailina has had the aplomb to plough Jigsaw’s own furrow, comatose to aerial appearance trends if accordant but blank them if not.
‘We use the balustrade as a barometer rather than belief it too closely,’ she says. ‘For instance, there are a lot of oversized, double-breasted blazers about at the moment, but we’ll abuse the architecture to accomplish them appropriate for our chump – an boilerplate British woman who’s 5ft 6in rather than a model.’ Shailina additionally encourages her designers to seek afflatus above the accessible places – aftermost year they created floral prints afflicted by a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Tate Modern.
PERSONAL TOUCH ‘We embrace attractive afterwards all altered shapes and sizes,’ she says. ‘I accept gone from actuality a admeasurement eight in my aboriginal 20s and actuality a applicable archetypal at Jaeger to now, in my 50s, actuality a admeasurement 14. My activity has changed, as has the way I dress. But I still feel I can attending as acceptable now as I did then.
And I appetence Jigsaw to do that for all women.’ Shailina is additionally big on acreage research, acceptance to accepting hundreds of pap-style photos on her fizz taken of accidental women she has spotted cutting Jigsaw. ‘It’s advantageous to see how they appearance the pieces and I still get a absolute fizz aback I see addition in our clothes.’
WHAT'S NEXT? Not sitting on her laurels, that’s for sure. ‘Shopping is no best women’s favourite pastime. We accept begin added things that accomplish us tick, from wellbeing and travelling to amoebic food,’ she explains. ‘Because bodies no best absorb all their Saturdays shopping, we accept to acquisition new and able bureau to appoint the customer.’
Shailina promises a greater focus on the in-store acquaintance (Jigsaw’s abstraction aliment accept cafés, jukeboxes and art installations, and there’s a Christmas allowance accord with Rococo Chocolates and a revamped jewellery band on the way). Meanwhile, Jigsaw’s abridged affluence collection, Å, which launched aftermost year and is shown at London Appearance Week, has aloof gone on auction at Harvey Nichols; affidavit that Shailina and her aggregation are ambience the appearance calendar rather than afterward it.
THE VETERAN VISIONARY Ann-Sofie Johansson, artistic advisor, H&M
H&M's artistic adviser Ann-Sofie Johansson says: ' I accept to apperceive what the chump wants afore she does'
Ann-Sofie, 54, is an H&M lifer, adulatory 30 years at the aggregation this year. Afterwards falling in adulation with the casting as a boyish client in her built-in Sweden, she got a job as an H&M boutique abettor in 1987, alive part-time while belief appearance and art.
She afresh became a architecture abettor afore alive her way up to her accepted role of artistic advisor, which sees her conference a architecture aggregation of 300 and advancing up with H&M’s pioneering, acclaimed artist collaborations. She lives in Stockholm with her husband.
FLYING HIGH H&M is ablution eight new online markets this year beyond the apple and aperture about 430 new stores. The H&M accumulation (which includes Cos, & Added Stories and Monki amid others) apparent its eighth brand, the upmarket and basal Arket, in London this autumn.
THE H&M WOMAN ‘She ranges from the little babe dressed in our childrenswear through to the earlier woman, like me, who still loves appearance and will absorb added money on cashmere or cottony pieces and appropriate collections,’ says Ann-Sofie.
‘She’s anyone who’s absorbed in fashion, basically. We don’t allocution about age any more, it’s not relevant. Today, appearance affairs to added women – and for a best aeon of their lives.’
Britain’s constant adulation activity with all things Scandi takes in everything, from angry BBC Four abomination dramas, affairs trends such as hygge, chichi mid-century avant-garde interiors and comestible delights from René Redzepi’s acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant Noma to, er, Ikea meatballs. And afresh there’s high-street fashion. Although Spanish-owned Zara is now the world’s better appearance retailer, the Stockholm-based H&M accumulation (previous holder of that title) still dominates our boondocks centres acknowledgment to its bulk of brands: H&M, H&M Home, Cos, & Added Stories, Monki, Bargain Monday, Weekday and the anew accustomed Arket, with rumours of a ninth barrage to chase abutting year.
‘Wherever we can see a gap in the market, we try to ample it with a brand,’ says Ann-Sofie. This bureau that boyish girls can buy bargain denim and Instagram the kitsch interiors in Monki, while their mothers aces up a cashmere jumper and a coffee alongside art books in their top-end affairs abundance Arket (although whether the latter’s pared-down artful is altered abundant to Cos charcoal to be seen).
There’s additionally Swedish-owned Lindex, which has been affairs womenswear, kidswear and adorableness for added than 60 years. A above amateur beyond Scandinavia, axial Europe and the Baltic states, Lindex has about 500 aliment and abundant banking ascendancy to casting Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow in its ad campaigns. It currently has UK aliment in London’s two Westfield arcade centres, but watch this amplitude for more.
Finally, a actual British high-street academy has accustomed an bang of Scandi air-conditioned – the disturbing Topshop and Topman has called a Swede, David Hagglund, as their new collective artistic director. He’s the above art administrator of Vogue Paris who runs a Stockholm artistic bureau – which counts (and so we go abounding circle) H&M amid its clients.
HERO PIECES The intricate, amusing floral frocks from H&M’s latest collaboration: this year it’s with acclaimed British occasionwear artist Erdem. The accumulating launched this anniversary and we adumbrate every bells this winter will affection at atomic one bedfellow decked out in Erdem x H&M finery.
SECRETS OF HER SUCCESS When Ann-Sofie and her aggregation aboriginal started alive with top designers in 2004, blame off with Karl Lagerfeld, they had no clue that the anniversary collaborations would become such a huge talking point, bidding queues about the block and copycat ranges from added high-street brands.
But it’s not aloof the high-profile initiatives that count, she says: alms array is key. ‘I admired how aback I was a jailbait I could acquisition whatever I bare in H&M and I still appetence every chump to feel that. H&M should be a life-saver in that way.’
And afresh there’s the amount of actuality the aerial street’s Mystic Meg: ‘My job is to accord the chump what she wants and apperceive what she wants afore she does,’ says Ann-Sofie. ‘Some years back, it took ages to argue barter that angular was the contour for the basal bisected – it took ten years of accomplishing angular trousers in altered fabrics and colours afore bodies bent on.
And now it’s demography as continued to move abroad from that silhouette. We are aggravating with slouchy, wider-legged trousers but angular is still there. We accept to action both options, but we won’t accord up! That advance for change comes from a gut feeling, based on years of experience.’
PERSONAL TOUCH Once a boutique girl, consistently a boutique babe – Ann-Sofie allocation to the tills a brace of canicule a year to reconnect with that shop-floor acquaintance and beam the women who abrasion her designs.
In fact, she’s in-store best days, dabbling about the annex beneath her Stockholm office. ‘It’s actual absorbing to eavesdrop on what the barter are saying. Boyish girls are the harshest critics – they’re the ones with the best honest opinions.’
WHAT'S NEXT? Those artist collaborations aren’t activity to disappear, acceptance the competition. ‘Everyone is accomplishing them now but maybe this is the way we’ll all assignment in the future, with brands accommodating to barter ideas. It’s a nice thought,’ says Ann-Sofie. Sustainability is a above focus, with H&M one of retail’s better buyers of recycled polyester, amoebic affection and Tencel (an eco-friendly affection another fabricated from eucalyptus trees).
‘We appetence to advance the way and there’s a huge appetence for this from the adolescent generation. We appetence to actualize new clothes out of old clothes, so we can abide to adulation appearance afterwards affliction our planet any more.’
THE FAMILY FAVOURITE Chloe Ward, artistic administrator for Joules
'The adolescent mum has consistently been our key demographic, alike aback the abstraction of motherhood wasn't as fashionable as it is now,' says Joules's Chloe Ward
After alive briefly as a architecture abettor for Jasper Conran, in 2002 Chloe abutting the Joules aggregation – which aback afresh comprised architect Tom Joule and aloof a scattering of agents – as the brand’s aboriginal (and only) designer. Today, as artistic administrator she oversees the womenswear, menswear, kidswear, homeware and centralized book architecture teams at its Bazaar Harborough HQ. Chloe, 37, lives in the adjacent apple of Hallaton, Leicestershire, with her bedmate and three sons age-old one, four and seven.
FLYING HIGH In the accomplished year, pre-tax profits accept leapt by 34 per cent, from £7.5 actor to £10.1 million, with sales accretion by 19 percent (of which online sales were abnormally able – up about 30 per cent). The casting opened 11 new aliment this year and broadcast into the US.
THE JOULES WOMAN ‘The adolescent mum has consistently been our key demographic, alike aback the abstraction of motherhood wasn’t as fashionable as it is now,’ says Chloe. That amount chump is in her backward 30s, her ancestors is her apple and she best acceptable lives in the country or a bazaar town. ‘I am her, and my activity informs the way I design.’
HERO PIECES Joules is a wellington wonderland, with 18 altered iterations in assorted colours and heights, while welly refuseniks ability be tempted by the cleverly advised waterproof chelsea boots. Coats – waterproof, artlessly – are constant bestsellers, akin breton acme with floral capacity which are all-over at abounding academy gates. And annihilation featuring a dog print: ‘Dogs on socks, on jumpers – our barter adulation their pets.’
You'll never see a brace of stilettos in our aliment - they are aloof not practical
SECRETS OF HER SUCESS Joules has ashore to its key ethics from the off, says Chloe, and benefited from both motherhood and the alfresco activity acceptable cool. ‘Mothers are added aspirational these canicule – booty the acceleration of the aperitive casket – and that’s been a huge befalling for us. It’s the aforementioned with active an outdoorsy activity with an allocation and chickens. Aback we started that wasn’t fashionable but it’s what we believed in – Tom started Joules [in 1989] by affairs at country shows. Now it’s a huge trend.’ Chloe’s designs are consistently focused on ‘real lives and absolute people’, with an accent on beautifully advised practicality. ‘Our starting point is: what is our chump accomplishing appropriate now? In the autumn that will be walks and blackberry picking, so what does she appetence to abrasion to do that?’ she says. ‘We anticipate about the end use of our products, whether that’s a cosy brace of socks for snuggling on the sofa, a bank bag that’s big abundant to authority the accomplished family’s being or waterproof ponchos for aback you booty the kids to a festival. And that’s why you’ll never see a brace of stilettos in our aliment – they’re aloof not practical.’
PERSONAL TOUCH Chloe understands how adamantine it is aggravating to browse with baby accouchement in tow, and has instigated changes in how Joules shops are designed. ‘We fabricated our bank aliment added of a ancestors experience. There are lots of articles alfresco so you don’t accept to lug the buggy into the shop, there’s a café so you can get the kids an ice cream, and you can buy them a brazier and burrow alongside your sunhat.’
WHAT'S NEXT? ‘We’ve fabricated abundant advance but there’s so abundant added potential,’ says Chloe. ‘There are affluence of places in the UK that could accept a Joules boutique that don’t.’ Expanding the homeware ambit is one of her abutting key tasks.
WAREHOUSE Since architecture administrator Emma Cook accustomed in 2015, this 1990s favourite has become a must-visit abundance again, appetizing women aback with appealing day dresses and good-value cottony shirts. Aftermost year, pre-tax losses narrowed from £3 actor to £1 million, and online sales grew by 12 per cent.
KAREN MILLEN Afterwards years in the doldrums, new CEO Beth Butterwick is giving the banker a reboot. The label’s cast affair dresses and workwear accept accustomed a glassy adapt and online sales are up by a third in the accomplished year.
NEXT LABEL/MIX This autumn Abutting launched Label/Mix, which appearance limited-edition collaborations with designers such as Rejina Pyo and J Won. Abutting may be backward to the artist collab affair but it has absolutely rocked up in style.
ME EM It started as online alone but the upmarket daywear casting has aloof opened its third London store. Launched by Clare Hornby in 2009, Me Em counts the Duchess of Cambridge amid its fans.
TOAST Its anatomic dungarees and loose-fit day dresses are allowance Toast become one of the aerial street’s brightest stars. Under CEO Suzie de Rohan Willner, who accustomed in 2015, the casting has apparent sales acceleration by 17 per cent.
MATALAN The bargain chain, which counts Julien Macdonald as a designer, saw revenues acceleration from £245.5 actor to £259.9 actor this year. The casting credits full-price sales, rather than approved discounts, for the boost.
