DCA
Q & A WITH… SARAH WATSON FROM WENTWORTH PUZZLES
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Q: HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH WENTWORTH PUZZLES. A: I have a background in art and design, which I initially put to use working in a marketing agency before setting up my own agency. I later moved into retail marketing, then multi-channel, working at Clarks shoes as children’s brand marketing manager, then Cotswold Outdoor as marketing manager. After I had children, I initially took on a part-time role at Wentworth, before becoming sales and marketing director in 2010, then managing director in 2019. Not only could I see Wentworth was a brand with great untapped potential, but the factory was a 10-minute drive from my children’s school.
In a factory in the heart of rural Wiltshire, Wentworth Puzzles has been crafting its classic British Made wooden jigsaw puzzles for decades. I recently interviewed Sarah Watson, who has been involved in the business for 15 years and for the last 3 years as managing director. It is clear from talking to Sarah, that after a decade of continuous growth, culminating in a Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year, more ambitious growth plans are on the agenda.
All the roles I’ve had were brand new and starting something from scratch, which fits the entrepreneur in me and desire for a challenge.
When I joined Wentworth my role was to develop and grow its B2C sales, which at the time were incredibly small, as 80 per cent of sales were B2B. Unbeknown to me it was make or break time for the company, which had never been profitable in its 15-year history, plus the credit crunch was just around the corner. Te early years were quite challenging, there was no money to invest in growth, so the focus then had to be on retention and growth from a small number of customers. Tis strategy eventually paid off and in 2011 the company was profitable for the first time ever and we were able to invest in customer recruitment. Tanks to a fantastic product, the brainchild of founder Kevin Wentworth Preston, plus one shareholder who believed enough to keep the business alive in those early years, the foundations were strong enough to build on.
homeofdirectcommerce.com | Direct Commerce
BY CLAIRE HART, ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTOR, DIRECT COMMERCE MAGAZINE
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