22 THE BIG INTERVIEW


Continued from page 21


Sitting in the company’s bright and airy boardroom, surrounded by pictures and documents highlighting Beaverbrook’s distinguished history, Anna, who has been recognised as one of the UK’s best leaders, reflects on the driving forces behind what she describes as a “brilliant year”.


She says: “It’s a combination of things. The jewellery industry has done extremely well. There’s been more disposable income, people not being able to travel, people being fed up.


“We had a lot of people wanting to treat themselves to that special Swiss watch, there were a lot of engagements. People have wanted to give gifts to their loved-ones, to show they care in difficult times.”


She adds: “From the very beginning of the pandemic we reviewed our position, reviewed our strategies and looked at worse case scenarios


“I don’t think any of us thought we’d be shut for six months of the year, but we had to make sure that we came out of this, whatever this was, as strong as we possibly could. Colleagues knew we had their backs, that they were the priority for us.”


And she is looking towards the near future with cautious optimism, despite the looming inflation-led crunch. “There are plenty of reasons why business could be a struggle,” she says. “But actually, there are as many reasons why the strengths of our business will continue.


“There’s the three-year catch up on weddings. People will still want to celebrate key life events. That is where Beaverbrooks comes in, the quality of products and the customer service we offer.


“There’s no doubt about the decline in footfall in the high street, but we are finding customers are spending longer in store and are spending more money.”


Anna joined the business as a graduate trainee in 1998, and after working her way up the ranks accepted the role of chief executive officer in 2013.


This appointment was significant on two levels – she was its first female CEO and the first non-family member to take up the role.


Her role was changed again as she was appointed managing director in 2018, making her only the second-ever non-family member to sit on the board and cementing her key role in the organisation.


Anna’s first role was as a sales consultant at Beaverbrooks’ Trafford Centre store. She applied for the job after returning from a year spent travelling following university in Manchester, where she studied sociology and economics.


She says: “I thought it was time to get a job. I like jewellery, saw the post advertised and went and found out all about the company before the interview.”


She liked what she found. “I’d spent the year in Africa volunteering in an Aids orphanage in Malawi. I wanted to make a difference,” Anna explains.


We want to be a great employer and be a great


workplace and that takes engagement from everybody


Beaverbrooks has 71 stores across the UK and employs in the region of 1,000 people. Anna stresses that it made no redundancies because of Covid.


She adds: “I had to spend time negotiating with landlords, with some great conversations around partnerships, again making sure we came out as strong as we could. We worked with a lot of our landlords to share the pain.


“We continued to invest in products, reconfigured our whole office and warehouse to be able to carry on with our e-commerce business. It took us 19 days to reconfigure our warehouse.


During lockdown last year


we created a new prestige luxury brand and we have bought two stores


“During lockdown last year we created a new prestige luxury brand and we have bought two stores. The new brand is called Loupe we are very excited about it. We think it will be a game changer in the luxury market. Loupe is about quality and a luxury environment were people want to spend time.”


Loupe is the eyeglass used manufacturing jewellery and a key tool for watchmakers. A Milton Keynes flagship store and a second Croydon boutique will be unveiled later this year, with an e-commerce site following.


As well as the rise in e-commerce, which has continued even as the country has unlocked, there have been massive increases in Beaverbrooks’ mail order and telephone sales.


Anna says: “We’ve talked a lot about confidence, about resilience and investment within the business.”


“The business at the time was donating 10 per cent every year to charity – that is now 20 per cent. I was also struck by the way I’d able to have a voice in the business.


“It was the family feel and values that attracted me, plus the opportunity to develop, though I never thought I’d end up in this position. But I believed there could be a good career. The investment in people and the charity all made me say ‘yes, this is where I want to be’.”


Anna travelled around the country as her career in the business developed, including time north of the border in Scotland, and even met her husband at Beaverbrooks. Today they have two children aged 10 and 14 and live not far from the St Annes head office.


Anna has spent her career trailblazing and is very much a woman who has made an impact. However, when it comes to making that difference, she believes it is not about gender, rather it is about having what she calls “emotional intelligence”.


She adds: “It is the ability to make the tough decision and to actually explain the reasoning behind it. Having compassion and empathy are the key skills of any leader, whether male or female.


“Our products are amazing but ultimately we are a people business. Having empathy and really listening to your people are critical. It is about relationships and the empowerment of people.”


Nurturing that empowerment and evolving Beaverbrooks’ business values have been at the heart of her development of the company, and the way it has emerged through recent challenges.


She has made it her mission to prove that treating people well should be reflected on the bottom line and since taking up her senior role has worked to create a highly accountable, engaged workforce with high levels of job satisfaction.


To that end she talks about “fairness” and “trust”, and a “level of honesty”, which is there, she says, “because we want people to do well.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84