How some of fashion’s biggest names secured their roles
Drapers speaks to five industry heavyweights to learn how they rose through the ranks and get their advice for those just getting started in the fashion industry
JO JENKINS, CEO, WHITE STUFF
HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
I didn’t go to university and entered retail through the Marks & Spencer management trainee scheme. I specialised in finance, however although I had a brain for it, I was creatively missing something, so I retrained to be a buyer going into the head office as a range selector.
I was then headhunted to join Next. Going there to be a buyer was a wakeup call as I was able to marry good finance and creative skills.
I spent 17 years there: as a buyer, running a proportion of Next’s UK sourcing business and subsequently CEO Simon Wolfson asked me to become womenswear director.
Going to Next was probably the best thing I ever did. I learnt how to be a real buyer and was in a leadership role under the eye of Simon, who lead the business with an immense amount of detail. I sadly left Next for progression, as nobody leaves.
M&S asked me to go back to run lingerie and beauty. It was a fantastic experience and we improved our bra market share by four points. Two years into it I was given responsibility for all of womenswear by CEO Steve Rowe.
From there I was already on the operational committee of M&S and, with exposure and opportunity to drive the P&L, when White Stuff came along and said would I be CEO it was the perfect timing.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY OVER YOUR CAREER?
A shift in channels is significant and customer behaviour is changing rapidly. Loyalty is not what it was. Knowing customers today and being able to anticipate their behaviour is harder than ever before.
Online allows great small brands to thrive and grow very quickly. The competition is much wider, and you have to keep an eye on small players as much as the big boys.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN BUILDING A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
It’s a great time of opportunity for people entering our field. The rapidly changing retail environment and multi-faceted channels for consumers means that rather than having one specific skill set, and having to specialise early on, you can have a varied background.
It means there are so many more opportunities. As CEOs we encourage people to come from wide [professional] backgrounds because it adds diversity. I don’t need specific core skills – I need people to be good at reading data, understanding it and taking action.
HUGO ADAMS, CEO, FRUGI
HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
On leaving university, I signed up with a temping agency. I was lucky to be placed with The Body Shop to support the buyers with their sample administration and four years later I’d done three roles in buying and merchandising.
I had a growing interest in marketing, but Anita’s [Roddick, founder of The Body Shop] preference was to only focus on PR and word of mouth, so I moved to a large FMCG brand, Kraft Foods, to gain strong brand and marketing experience.
However, I missed the entrepreneurial founder-led culture of The Body Shop which drove a move to Dyson. I started as head of global marketing before deciding to broaden my commercial experience by leading its distributor businesses and new market expansion. I thoroughly enjoyed this and started considering other businesses where I could help international growth.
Marks & Spencer had a goal to increase the percentage of its international business, so I approached them to help shape this plan. I was taken on as head of international business development, which later expanded to include leading the franchise businesses in Europe and the Middle East. The new CEO Marc Bolland asked me to be his executive assistant, a role that I did for nearly three years, exposing me to the full breadth of the business.
From there I became the property director of M&S with the brief to bring a business development focus to the property department – I certainly had no specific property experience. I then joined the executive board of Superdry and from there I became CEO of Frugi a year ago.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY OVER YOUR CAREER?
Clearly there has been a huge change in the way technology has developed. With the availability of consumer metrics and data there are now so many more ways to talk directly to your customers in a way that is personalised, relevant and timely, which makes it both more interesting and challenging.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN BUILDING A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
It’s important to build networks. The broader your network the greater the stimulus on what is happening in your industry. Learn something new from every conversation and use it to drive change in your business.
Your career is in your hands. I approached both M&S and Superdry because I wanted to work for them. Neither business was actively recruiting for the role that I was hired for. Decide what you want to do and what business you want to work for and go after it.
FIONA LAMBERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT RIVER ISLAND
HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
I studied fashion at Nottingham Trent University and my first job was as a designer and pattern cutter at Next. It was when it was still quite small, and I got very close to George Davies who started it. He was passionate about the customer and product and I learned a lot from him.
When George left Next and started George at Asda, he asked me to join him as a partner. It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of the founding team. Working there with him gave me the appetite to do something similar myself in the future.
After 10 years having a very close hand in all of the product ranges, I left George to go back to Next as womenswear director. I remained at Next for seven years overseeing all the buying, design and merchandise quality before getting the opportunity to go back to George.
I went back as brand director with the remit to reinvent the brand, and because of my success was given the opportunity to take Asda’s limited home range and create a George home range and make them winning categories.
I did that until 2016 before spending two years at Dunelm as product director.
I then got given this opportunity by River Island Holdings, with a very grand title of managing director of new business development. It’s a dream role for me as it is about looking for gaps in the market, being innovative and brave and starting new brands. The first, Harpenne, launched on 8 August and it is really a lifetime dream come true.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY OVER YOUR CAREER?
I was involved in one of the biggest changes, which was starting George. At that time there were no supermarkets selling fashion, and it was an incredible change to the industry. Supermarkets now have a very big role to play in the sector and have a big market share in both volume and value.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN BUILDING A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
The pace of change is so fast now in the industry, with the growth of online, technology and social media, that established brands need to keep reinventing themselves and be agile.
The customer has so many choices now that brands need an absolute focus on what the customer needs. It hangs on their USP and a more niche brands are chipping away at the big players.
FERGUS PATTERSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR NORTHERN EUROPE, GANT
HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
I started as a salesman at a traditional men’s tailors, Willerby the Tailor in Falkirk, part of the Great Universal Stores group. When the shop changed into a jeans shop I was offered the role of manager, aged 18. I worked hard to learn to lead and manage others and got my first area manager role at the age of 22 working for Falmer Jeans. Then I moved to Sears then the Burton Group in similar but increasingly larger roles.
My best move was in 1995 to a business I grew to love, WH Smith. I spent eight years there culminating in the role of retail operations director for WH Smith Travel. I worked for a few excellent role model leaders and found myself part of the strategic decision-making process as well as ensuring it was implemented in-store.
In 2003 I joined Barclays as a retail bank director, however, it wasn't for me and I wasn't for them. I was restructured out of a job and, I don't mind admitting it, it felt like failure. The opportunity to be part of a management buyout team at TJ Hughes came along which was followed by the role of managing director role at French fashion brand, Morgan de Toi.
I then joined Wolsey in 2009 as managing director of its UK wholesale, retail and online business and its international license business. We went through a major repositioning, and I felt we were heading in a positive direction. The owners, however, had a different vision to me so after three years I found myself out of a job.
I was recruited by Gant soon after leaving, initially as managing director of the UK and Ireland and since April this year for Northern Europe. I still have tremendous energy for this brand and feel privileged to lead such a strong team and brand.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE SEEN TO THE INDUSTRY OVER YOUR CAREER?
Online shopping. Almost everyone has a mobile device and therefore has a huge selection at their fingertips. This challenge has put the traditional high street under tremendous pressure. I still believe that people want experiences that go beyond transactional, but creating experimental retailing is still a challenge for most brands.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN BUILDING A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
My biggest learnings are do what you enjoy, work with people you can learn from and that want to develop you. Be prepared to put the hours in - there is still no substitute for hard graft - and gain different experiences where you can.
Learn how the finances of a business work, you cannot make good decisions without understanding the financial implications. Finally, treat everyone with respect and allow their voice to be heard, people that feel valued will in the main perform well.
Ash Siddique, Managing Director, Missy Empire
HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
I always worked in the family knitwear business in Manchester from an early age. I started off in the packing area and began learning every step of the business until my father handed me and my brother the control of the manufacturing business. Since then I have been managing director of multiple business including Missy Empire which I co-founded with my brother, Ish, in April 2015.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE SEEN TO THE INDUSTRY OVER YOUR CAREER?
There is more competition. You always have to be staying one step ahead in managing the brand and its commitment to the customer. Also, we’ve seen the increased negativity around fast fashion and how it commonly confused with throwaway fashion.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN BUILDING A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
The ecommerce industry is 24/7 and it never stops. It connects us the world which is one of the biggest opportunities and also a big challenge. Having to forever keep up with fast changing trends & customer needs is what makes this industry exciting and overwhelming at the same time.