Women executives in retail #14: Q&A with Jo Jenkins, CEO, White Stuff.

Women who have reached senior positions in the retail world are (all too) rare, not to mention invisible, which is why we decided to get to know them better by inviting them to tell us about their career paths, the challenges of the past and those of the future.

Q&A with Jo Jenkins, CEO, White Stuff.

 

Can you tell us a little about White Stuff and its differentiation in the market?

 

White Stuff is a modern lifestyle brand selling smart casual clothing with a unique and creative style. We are champions of the independent spirit. We exist to give our customers the freedom to express their individuality through our unique and thoughtful designs. We obsess over details, interesting colour combinations and inspirational prints. It’s never boring, never dull and always underpinned with excellent quality and strong ESG credentials. We are also the largest fashion retailer of Fairtrade cotton in the UK.

 

What have been the major challenges over recent years?

 

I joined the business six years ago to instigate a Total Business transformation. One of the big challenges I faced was modernising our systems and processes to enable the brand to thrive in a multi-channel business model. Being accessible to customers on their terms is an assenting part of retail today and ensuring the business can offer excellent customer experience across all the channels, for me, was key to the future-facing strategy. An investment in IT and increased functionality became critical but more importantly getting the teams to operate over multiple channels whilst always delivering the same brand experience.

 

The ongoing economic backdrop has made day-to-day trading tough and unpredictable, but we’ve never been distracted from the transformation plan and our eyes have always been firmly set on delivering a modern, relevant multi-channel brand.

 

What have been your major achievements?

 

There has been a lot to be proud of. We are delighting our existing customers with not only a refreshed brand creative but exciting modern product. Frequency and average order values show us our core customer is enjoying the offer whilst high levels of acquisition show us that new customers are finding us and appreciating our unique style.

 

It’s been fantastic to see the brand perform so well across all our partnerships. Achieving strong commercial success across John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Next reminds us of the brands’ reach and underpins the opportunity to serve the 50+ independently-minded woman/man who are often underrepresented in both shopping choices and marketing campaigns.

 

The biggest achievement though must be the working culture that we have been able to nurture through significant change in the business. A low hierarchy, high autonomy environment empowers the team to get on with their jobs in a highly-engaged, flexible working approach. Just like our clothes, we do it our way! We want people to feel comfortable with themselves in the workplace, and for everyone to have a voice. It’s a great place to work

 

What advice would you give a young woman who’s about to enter the world of work?

 

My advice to any young woman entering the world of work today is to try different things and find a role that allows you to feel most able to be yourself. Don’t be afraid to say what your ideal career path would look like. Say it out loud and you’re halfway there. You’ll be amazed how many people will try to help you achieve your goals.

 

What excites you most about the future in your role?

 

In my current role we are about to enter another phase of growth through new initiatives. This is very motivating and hugely exciting as we start to see the payback from all the heavy lifting. Having a plan and seeing it come together is great and then driving growth is the really exciting bit. Bring it on!

 

What are your future plans – what would you ideally like to achieve?

 

At the moment, hugely focused on achieving White Stuff’s commercial potential and making it a go-to, loved British brand

 

What do you think the fashion industry will look like in 10/15 years?

 

I think our industry will continue to change and it’s our job to keep in step. Advancements in IT will further enable our efficiencies and drive the customer experience. Brands that are highly engaged with their customers will have the opportunity to thrive across many platforms and I think brand experience will become pivotal to success whilst always remembering that its product that drives us and sets us apart.

 

Do you feel that being a woman boss makes a difference?

 

I think that being CEO from a product background in the first instance makes a huge difference. Understanding customer and the product process to me is critical and loving product as I do makes me restless to continue to delight our customers with an excellent team to make this happen. A woman? Yeah sure. Empathy and team work are key and I think women often bring innovative thinking alongside motivating leadership. It can be a winning formula