RetailCraft - digital retail, ecommerce and brands - Retail Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Summary Paul Hornby, Digital Customer Experience Director at The Very Group (owner of very.co.uk and other brands) joins Ian Jindal and Georgia Scott to discuss his role, career and the positioning of Very within the market. We explore the history of the group, which dates back to 1890, and how it has evolved into the UK's largest domestic online-only retailer with an integrated flexible payment platform. We delve into the concept of digital experience and how the Very Group aims to help families get more out of life by offering a wide choice of products and flexible ways to pay. They also touch on the challenges of marketing and personalisation, as well as the ongoing technology transformation at the Very Group. Listen out for the term "technical cholesterol" - both the phrase and the explanation are delightful and we wish that we'd thought of this, but the recording doesn't lie ;)   Takeaways

• The Very Group is the UK's largest domestic online-only retailer with an integrated flexible payment platform.
• The company aims to help families get more out of life by offering a wide choice of products and flexible ways to pay.
• The role of credit is to support families in managing their household income and making purchases more affordable.
• The Very Group is focused on digital experience and constantly optimizing the customer journey.
• The company is undergoing a technology transformation to create a composable architecture and enhance the customer experience.

Quotes

• "Our purpose as a business is to help families get more out of life."
• "Our job was to translate [the heritage] into a digital world, create a compelling digital experience, and then find a way of translating the mechanism of how you could spread the cost online."

Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Lunch 01:17 - Introducing Paul Hornby 02:12 - Paul's Role at the Very Group 03:39 - The Unique Proposition of the Very Group 04:38 - The History of the Very Group 06:35 - The Catalog Business and Credit Offering 09:26 - The Transition to the Digital World 13:12 - The Role of Credit in Supporting Customers 15:08 - The Value Proposition to Customers 16:35 - Market Competitive Pricing and Credit Options 21:06 - Digital Marketing and Personalization 24:48 - Paul's Career Journey 29:34 - Returning to the Very Group 32:31 - The Technology Transformation at the Very Group 38:11 - Creating a Learning Culture 39:09 - The Exciting Future of the Very Group

 

--  Run time: 48 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Very - https://www.very.co.uk/

The Very Group - https://www.theverygroup.com/   

 

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Paul Hornby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhornby/ 

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/  

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

Welcome to a special episode featuring Mark from Guitar Guitar, who joins us to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary. Hosted by Ian Jindal, Editor-in-Chief of Internet Retailing, and Georgia from Adobe, this episode dives deep into the evolution of Guitar Guitar and its unique approach to music retail.

Mark shares the history of Guitar Guitar, from its humble beginnings to becoming a significant player in the music retail industry. He discusses the company's commitment to providing a personalized customer experience, both online and in-store, and the challenges and triumphs they've faced over the years.

The conversation touches on the innovative ways Guitar Guitar has integrated technology to enhance customer interaction, the importance of maintaining a physical store presence, and the company's recent transition to an employee-owned business model. Mark also highlights their efforts in music education and community engagement, reflecting on how these initiatives align with their core values.

Join us for an insightful discussion about the past, present, and future of Guitar Guitar, and learn how they continue to make music more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

 

--  Run time: 33 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Guitar Guitar - https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/  and https://www.linkedin.com/company/guitar-guitar-limited/ 

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Mark McKenzie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mckenzie-uk/ 

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/  

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

Molly Dobson is the Managing Director of Currys Business, the B2B operation of the long-established Currys brand, that covers white goods to smart devices via outdoors electricals and gaming... basically anything with a plug or voltage! See www.currys.co.uk. Molly explodes into our studio like a positive force of nature, and takes us at a gallop through the business, the service approach, and how expertise, people, systems and great service come together into the B2B offering. We hear of Molly's career and how the data+customer obsession has been a connective line through her roles. 

Molly takes us through how to balance "service with a capital and small 's'" and how to attach that service element to products. We go through the weird and wonderful and perhaps dwell for a while on pink flamingoes, yet the central core is a commitment to the business customer.

This chat changed our views on Currys and B2B.

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Run time: 40 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Currys Business: https://business.currys.co.uk/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/currysbusiness/ 

 

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Molly Dobson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollydobson/ 

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/   and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal 

 

Two fresh angles that speak to the developments in multichannel retail - changes in formats, product, audience engagement and business models.

Our first guest, Charlotte Fairbairn, talks us through the model of MyWardrobeHQ, the luxury-rental-subscription-white-label genre-defying multi-hyphenate business that's carving a new path for fashion brands in the re-commerce, circular economy.

We learn from Charlotte some of the operational and business challenges they've overcome in their journey, as well as some choice insights on what it takes to create circular commerce with your customer.

Janis Thomas of Look Fabulous Forever gives us a new look on cosmetics as she explains the brand's genesis, founded for the specific needs of older skins. We hear how a start-from-scratch tale of needs analysis, product development and market creation started with the founder, along with how the business grows its base. Along the way we delve into Janis' career and learn that nothing's new in the world of subscription commerce (or rather, that she was pioneering approaches way before we were reporting on them!).

This recording is also a welcome to the studio to Georgia Scott, my co-host from Adobe. Georgia settled immediately into the studio and we'll do a 'behind the scenes' chat with Georgia over the summer, including perhaps that our first event partnership was over a decade ago at the British Embassy in Paris...  Welcome Georgia to the series!

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Run time: 52 minutes

INFORMATION:

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MyWardrobeHQ: https://www.mywardrobehq.com/ 

Look Fabulous Forever: https://www.lookfabulousforever.com/ 

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Charlotte Fairbairn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottelingmba/ 

Janis Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janisthomas/ 

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/   and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 🎙️📷 ] Recorded and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal ( www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

 

In our second run-and-record session from NRF 2023 in New York in January 2023, we catch up with Mike Wallwork, Head of eCommerce at Footasylum, the fast-growing destination for sneakerheads in the UK... 

From a distinct, Manchester-born DNA in 2005, the business has grown rapidly online and into 66 stores. In our conversation Mike gives us an insight into the knowledge, passion and expertise in the team that connects a very demanding and knowledgeable consumer with local yet global trends. It's clear the level of consideration, expertise and focus needed - "our teams are basically our consumer" - even between the Footasylum and (subsidiary) Sevenstore (https://www.sevenstore.com/).

We chat about their app (including in-app voting), loyalty schemes,  brands, understanding the customer, engagement, how to keep the inspiration fresh while spotting up-and-coming trends, and the growth of own-brand. Not bad for 17 minutes!

 

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Run time: 17 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Footasylum: https://www.footasylum.com/ 

Sevenstore: https://www.sevenstore.com/ 

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Mike Wallwork: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-wallwork-2035315/ 

Jamie Merrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiemerrick/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/   and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 🎙️📷 ] Recorded at NRF 2023 in New York and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal (https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

 

During an exceptionally busy NRF 2023 in January in New York we managed to grab some time with Gijs van Engelen, the Chief Digital Officer and member of the Board at Hunkemöller, one of the largest lingerie specialists in Europe. They have a direct site in the UK (https://www.hunkemoller.co.uk/), while also selling via retailers like Next, and a US/Global site at https://www.hunkemoller.com. Meanwhile their stores are to be seen in most town centres in northern Europe.

 

Jamie and I chatted with Gijs against the bustle of 40,000 retailers jostling around the Javits Centre, and we covered the brand's history, position and growth focus for 2023. Of particular note is approach to multichannel, blending store and online, and how to make each store simultaneously a flagship and a profitable endeavour. Gijs also covers the use of marketplaces as a market-entry strategy (eg Zalando in Switzerland and Asos in the UK).

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Run time: 20 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Hunkemöller: https://www.hunkemoller.co.uk/ 

 

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Gijs van Engelen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gijs-van-engelen-760582/ 

Jamie Merrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiemerrick/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/  and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 🎙️📷 ] Recorded in New York at NRF 2023 and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal ( https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

With us in the studio we Kate, from Tern.eco and Mats who founded Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P) in the UK, recently amalgamated from master-franchisee to part of the global operation.

Kate Walmsley is a pioneering retail leader who has created a platform to integrate second-hand sales into a brand's offering, integrating the option to buy new, buy second-hand, within the same experience.

Mats Nilsson, of Polarn O. Pyret, the doyens of the organic cotton striped kidswear, tells us about their journey to include second-hand in their offering. We hear of the brand's quality obsession (one of the pioneers in the use of organic cotton) and their obsession with great quality, even planning unisex styles to be handed down through a family from brother to sister several times. Mats is clear that giving their cherished, high-quality clothing an extended life in a different family is simply an extension of their values. 

Mats and Kate give us much to be positive about, while also reminding us that it is motivated people, allied to purposeful brands, that really drive progress. An inspiring session in the studio!

 

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Run time: 43 minutes

INFORMATION:

[ 🖥️ ]

Tern: https://www.tern.eco/ 

PO.P: https://www.polarnopyret.co.uk/ and https://www.polarnopyret.co.uk/blogs/pop-magazine/po-p-second-hand 

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Kate Walmsley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-walmsley-573608/   

Mats Nilsson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mats-nilsson-55b8931/ 

Jamie Merrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiemerrick/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/  and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

[ 🎙️📷 ] Recorded and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal (https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

Joining us in the studio at the end of 2022, Jennifer North, Head of Digital Experience at Hobbycraft, gives us an eye-opening insight to the demanding, innovative craft and hobby market in the UK, and their multipronged and entrepreneurial position.

We hear about the craft customer - artists, hobbyists, businesses and the growing "sidehustle" generation of digitally-amplified creators - and how their demands and behaviours changed over the pandemic and now into 2023.

Jenny covers loyalty, subscriptions, apps, customer insight... as well as a fascinating glimpse at their customers' requirements - listen out for the hand-knitted nativity set and the laser-cut materials!

The briefest glimpse at https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/ will show the range and depth of the offering - along with a view of the triumph to present in a scaling, engaging experience.

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Run time: 33 minutes

INFORMATION:

Jennifer North: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyanorth/ 

Jamie Merrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiemerrick/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/  and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

Recorded and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal (https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

Cocoon (https://www.cocoon.club/) is a London-based circular subscription service for bag lovers. Not just any old bags - high end, desirable handbags. They operate a membership model, where a subscription unlocks access to the collection and weekly drops to support maintain freshness and energy. The business blends luxury service, product experience, sustainable and circular business models and of course the attraction of a scale-up with an interesting digital platform.

Ian was pleased to get some time with founder and luxury expert Ceanne Fernandes-Wong and in the cosiness of the studio we learn of the business drivers, the realities of providing the service, along with Ceanne's rich experiences and reflections from a career of leadership in luxury - Net a Porter, Vestiaire Collective, Kate Spade...

There's some bonus material at the end - we had so much to cover it was hard to leave the studio!

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Run time: 44 minutes

INFORMATION:

Ceanne Fernandes-Wong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceannefernandes/ 

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/  and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

Recorded and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal (https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal ) 

Andy Jayes is a retail and digital veteran, and has earned that accolade given his background in BHS, House of Fraser, Selfridges, Virgin Megastores... along with covering the gamut of digital - from product and merchandising, via operations and development - to his current role as Digital Director at Fenwicks, the independently-owned, unique and quirky department store mini-chain.

There's so much to follow here - his journey from chef to chief, the positioning of Fenwicks and the sources of distinctiveness, the role of Digital Director, and how digital can transform a last-century business while retaining and using its DNA... As a result we just dived straight into the middle!

If you're not already familiar with Fenwicks then do check out their website (https://www.fenwick.co.uk/) to see the range of products and something of their history on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenwick_(department_store)) or in their own words (https://www.fenwick.co.uk/our-story.html).

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All of our podcasts now have a full transcript and notes available - check out the episode page on https://internetretailing.net/retailcraft-retail-podcasts/retailcraft-retail-podcasts

Run time: 30 minutes

INFORMATION:

Andy Jayes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-jayes-14307821/  

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/  and www.twitter.com/ianjindal 

 

Recorded and engineered at Spiritland Studios, UK.

Episode photo credit: Ian Jindal (https://www.instagram.com/ianjindal )