COMMENT

Fleet-footed .coms create a fresh  landscape for retailers

Since the first online purchase was made some 20 years ago the face of retail has changed beyond recognition and it is operators like Boohoo who continue to drive the pace of change in the sector.

The competitive and dynamic nature of the sector has always led to evolving retail models. In the 1950s Brownie Wise developed the concept of Party Plan – selling products by hosting a social event in an individual’s home – to sell Tupperware.

The Tupperware model was greatly emulated up until the late 1970s when the high street and development of major ‘out of town’ shopping centres signalled its demise. However in the last two years US jewellery and accessories retailer Stella & Dot has launched a similar model, this time called ‘Trunk Shows.’  The only difference to the Party Plan concept is the significant digital platform which has enabled the brand to quickly become established internationally, whilst still using the personal selling touch.

It is estimated that more than £100bn will be spent in 2014 on online transactions alone. At the same time we are seeing traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers develop their offering  – such as House of Fraser’s new ‘Click and Collect’ service which they have launched in conjunction with Cafe Nero. 
 
2014 has seen a resurgence of IPO activity in the sector, with both traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers such as Conviviality plc and pure-play online retailers like Boohoo successfully coming to the market. Whilst these retailers offer different promises to their investors, it is clear that investors are very keen to back the businesses that survived and thrived or emerged from the recession. 

Jane Haxby, corporate partner Sqire Patton Boggs

IT’S been a whirlwind 12 months for Carol Kane and Boohoo.com, the online  fashion e-tailer she jointly leads, and there is no sign this frenetic pace will let up.

Having floated the Manchester business on AIM in March with a market value north of £500m, her focus is all about delivering on the growth story that investors bought into, strengthening the senior team as Boohoo spreads its wings internationally, and of course making sure that the brand and product remains at the cutting edge of fashion.

Kane, who looks considerably younger than her 47 years, says: “You get used to life at a fast pace, you adjust, and when you’re not running at 100mph, you wonder what’s wrong.”

Originally from the North East, she was working in London in 1993 when she was approached by Boohoo’s founder Mahmud Kamani to come and work for his small textile business in Manchester.

Two decades and a year later and the pair are still together, in a business sense, though no longer as employee and employer, but as partners and co-leaders of the business.

Born with undoubted creative flair – Kane went to art school  after taking A-levels, despite being urged by her teachers to study sciences.

From a young age she was interested in textiles and fashion – particularly with two older sisters, one into glam-rock bands like T-Rex, the other into The Osmonds.

“My older sister would make all her clothes – there wasn’t affordable fashion on the high street then – so you had to do your own thing.

“I would make clothes too for my Barbie dolls, with material that I’d been given by the tailors in Burton, where my mum used to work.”

Her natural eye for fashion soon bore commercial fruit  – she got her first job while she was a student after one of the designs she produced while on a placement was taken-up by Top Shop.

Design remains a passion, both at work and at in her home life. At Boohoo’s Dale Street offices she has to rein-in her creative tendencies so she can fulfil her executive duties, while domestically she is in the throes of a restoration project of a listed property she and her partner have bought in Staffordshire.

With the higher echelons of corporate life tending to be dominated by middle-aged men in suits, it is refreshing to meet someone with such verve and enthusiasm for life.

I ask how life has changed since the IPO, and Kane says: “I suppose there are just more demands on your time. At the end of the day we sell clothes, footwear and accessories, and we are really good at it.

“I quite enjoy dealing with the analysts in the City, I didn’t think I would. It’s quite funny, having to explain who our customers our. One of them asked his daughter about us and then sent me a picture of her from his holiday wearing our clothes.”

She says she is aware of the City expectation that the right numbers will be achieved, but says scrutiny of Boohoo’s sales figures – (she receives a text every hour, by the way)  is more important than share price performance.

Being ‘down with the kids’ is a vital part of  understanding where  Boohoo’s target 16-24  market gets its inspiration from, and the company has a team trawling social media and blogs to identify the influencers.

One of these is Zoella – whom Kane mentions during our conversation – and whose existence had passed me by.
(For readers of a certain age, and similarly perplexed, Zoella is a 24-year-old vlogger – a video blogger, whose YouTube channel has more than 6.5 million subscribers.)

Zoella supporting boohoo has led to a ‘huge spike’ in traffic to the website. Her video review of some of its range has had 1.8 million views.

Working with Zoella,pictured, has empasised the power and reach of non-tradional advertising.

Kane said : “It’s amazing how much kids share every moment of their lives and influence each other . I have to admit that I’ve just joined Instagram, and it’s quite addictive.”

 “I have to pinch myself sometimes about how far we have come and how quickly.  I think I always knew that I wanted to be a running a company – when I first joined Mahmud I made it clear that I didn’t want to be an employee for very long.

She says one of the challenges of her role as Boohoo expands, innovates and launches new ranges, is to manage her time effectively, and not get too involved in detail.

“I have got to use my time efficiently, but I also need a creative fix, which is what I really enjoy. I think one of my strengths is agility – and also one that is true of this business too.

“As a pure-play online business we can be very quick in terms of price changes and promotions, I can’t imagine what that would be like in a bricks and mortar environment.”

She says her relationship with Mahmud Kamani is like that of brother and sister:  “He is a huge character and great leader and makes me laugh every day.

“We try and have a good culture in the business. In my view my job is not work, it’s what I do.

“If you have to drag yourself out of bed every morning you are probably in the wrong job.  I am really blessed because I love what I do.”

Having been a small business in the not too distant past, Kane says it is important to maintain the collective spirit and unity of purpose as Boohoo grows.

“It’s a family, but one with a growing number of mouths to feed. We do work hard to maintain the same levels of intimacy as before. We do this by having an open door policy and things like drinks and pizza on a Friday night.”

Addressing her role, she says it is important for a chief executive to “have good bandwidth” , but to also recognise that it’s impossible to do everything.

 “Mahmud and I set the vision and work with the team to deliver it. The next part of our journey with Boohoo is to strengthen the team around us and that’s why we are looking for an international director.”

In her time away from the office, Kane will be found painting, walking in the country with her four Jack Russell dogs, or pottering around antique shops and art galleries to find pieces for the new house.

Her working day has become so hectic that she has given up going to the gym at lunch-time, but has compromised somewhat in that she now brings a personal trainer into the office and blocks time out in her schedule for exercise every day.

She is a black  belt in kickboxing  – a discipline she discovered totally by accident when looking for a yoga class.

She relates: “I started doing it when I was 34, and I got a black belt within four years, so I got hooked.”

She says she is decisive, rather than impulsive, apart from when she’s shopping.

In business though, she states: “I know what I want when I see it and I go for it, but I always have a plan B, just in case we need to change tack quickly.”

Despite her hectic schedule and highly demanding role, it’s clear that Kane is enjoying life, and the buzz of being at the helm of a leading-edge digital business.

“You never stop learning. That’s what I love,” she says.

She is passionate too about helping, encouraging and inspiring other women to reach for the top. She is mentoring several junior colleagues and says: “I feel that I have earned my stripes in business through a lot of hard work.

“I didn’t strive to be a role model, but I do want it to be a legacy that I have helped to get other women up there, by giving them the skills and the confidence to do it.”