We started the business 20 years ago, and learned as we progressed. We had a lot of vision, creativity, flair and energy but made some mistakes early on. The first time we put our products on the shelves, they went off within six months because we'd wanted them to be as pure as possible. So we had to go back to the market with a revised version.
When Lehmans collapsed in October 2008, I went back to basics by stripping the business of any additions. Presented with a stationery order for £4,200. I emptied everyone's desks and found more staples and paperclips than you'd ever imagine. We only needed £410 worth of stationery by the end of the process. That for me was a big statement of how we had to change the culture.
Our year-on-year profit growth for 2009 vs 2008 was in excess of 18 per cent. We had no debts, no bank borrowing and were and are cash positive. That's my role.
After boarding school, I started a business degree. Six months later I was in Antigua sailing yachts. I opted out of the further education programme for what I thought at the time was serious quality of life.
Terminal 5 marked a wind of change and innovation that was good for Elemis and good for British Airways. Our relationship with BA is one of the most important things we've done. It's always been a dream to work with Britain's greatest flagship and the world's best airline.
I recently flew from Sydney to London in First. The minute I got on the flight I felt as if I was back in the UK.
Elemis is very much a British brand and we're proud of that. For me it's about integrity, quality and having a sincerity and honesty to the line. There are a lot of other brands with this British quality standard and everyone seems to be very proud to be flying that flag.
It's crucial to do business in person. I always tell my salespeople, you can't sell on emails. Face to face is absolutely the way to do it.
It is impossible to expect to run a global brand without knowing the challenges people face in other countries. Travel has been a big passion of mine and a big part of my life.
Elemis is not unaffordable, it's just aspirational. If you want results, you have to pay for them. We went through 32 formulations to produce one cream.
We do well in China, India, Australia and the Middle East, and the US continues to be phenomenal for us. Interestingly enough, our toughest market is Europe. I don't know if a British brand on the Champs Elysées selling a beauty experience is necessarily what the French have in mind!
There's not a portion of my business in negative growth. The day I start seeing minuses on the charts is maybe the day that someone else could do it better, but right now it's all positive and it's good.
blog comments powered by
