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The Quarterly

Byline

Dior and Holts: celebrating a fashion revolution and a 70-year partnership

Google ranks de Bijenkorf’s mobile website as one of the best in Europe

Making luxury exciting again: Radical Luxury at Selfridges

Byline

Title

What is luxury?Our Selfridges Group Vision is to create Leading Luxury Experiences for our customers around the world. However, luxury is an overly-used word, applied to everything from holidays and handbags to tea and even toilet rolls!

We decided to ask a few team members and other experts what the word means to them and how it varies between each of our banners. Here’s what we found…

The acquisition of luxury objects has always fulfilled aspirations, but in our busy and intrusive world, people increasingly value the luxury of time and space to enjoy special moments and extraordinary experiences.

As Jane Sharrock, our GM in Selfridges Manchester, Exchange Square store, said: “The ultimate luxury, to me, is time…truly like gold.”

That said, buying luxury products can be a powerful motivator for customers. In a recent study conducted by LG Signature1, 47% of customers said it’s better than a great first date or going on a vacation, and 41% said the feeling they get when buying a luxury product is better than sex!

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Message from the Deputy Chairman

Welcome to the fourth edition of our Selfridges Group newsletter, The Quarterly.

In this new look edition, we reflect on the evolving definition of ‘luxury’ and what it means to our industry, customers and team members. In the past, luxury had a frivolous connotation; it was about desire, the opposite of need.

This notion is no longer relevant, and, as you will see from the stories in this newsletter, luxury does not have to be expensive. It can be ephemeral, an experience that lives on in the stories we tell, photographs we take, or even the career progressions that we make.

I’m also delighted to hear from Isabella Desmarais, another one of our team members who has extended their career from one part of our Group to another.

This is something I’m very keen on, and I’d love to see even more of you enjoying careers across Selfridges Group. If this is something you are interested in doing, please contact talent@selfridgesgroup.com.

As ever, let us know if you have any feedback or ideas for improvement – we value your input.

Alannah Weston Deputy Chairman

pg2 pg3 pg4

In this issue:

pg3Arnotts Mother’s Day campaign

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Last year, Google ranked de Bijenkorf’s mobile website as one of the best in Europe in terms of its usability. In the first half of 2018, de Bijenkorf will focus on improving site speed, product findability and

navigation, to offer a more enhanced luxury shopping experience.

Another important focus of its e-strategy is to provide personal and relevant content on its site. By analysing previous

information and data such as past purchases, de Bijenkorf will offer its customers a more tailored product and brand overview by showing them their favourite cosmetic brands, or even pre-selecting shoes and clothes in their size!

What luxury means can also vary by country – for example, Dennis Boeter, our PGM of Menswear in de Bijenkorf, tells us in The Netherlands there is a saying ‘just do normal that is crazy enough’. As a result, luxury tends to be more understated in the Netherlands.

Many of you agree luxury is about quality, craftsmanship and distinction, and as John Redmond, Brown Thomas Creative Director, says, “Luxury is

What is luxury?Continued from page 1

At the end of October 2017, Holt Renfrew launched HoltsWOW, a new online employee recognition tool. HoltsWOW consolidates all previous recognition initiatives into one centralised platform. Now, every employee has the opportunity to give and receive recognition every day, in line with the recently introduced values (or Brand Spirit).

The platform contains a social media-style feed that allows the entire company to see all recognitions, enabling

employees to ‘like’, comment and upload their own pictures and videos to any recognition. The HoltsWOW mobile app means Holts employees never miss a moment to recognise someone.

Employees can also earn points that can be redeemed for their reward of choice, including merchandise items, travel deals and concert tickets. Holt Renfrew has had a tremendous response to HoltsWOW, with over 14,000 recognitions sent to date.

in each detail…and how it makes you feel.” It can also be about innovation and experimentation. The study also showed, 67% of millennial customers used the term ‘innovative’ rather than ‘high quality’ or ‘rare’ to define luxury. And as Linda DeFrances, our Holts SVP for Buying, tells us, “Luxury today is experiential, it is an attitude…where uniqueness and experimentation are valued.” For Tom Ford, it is “being able to enjoy beautiful things that haven’t had a destructive

HoltsWOW – Recognising employees at Holts

Did you know that

Selfridges Group now has a

Cross-Group mobility programme in place! To learn more contact

talent@ selfridgesgroup.com

Last month, the Selfridges Group Team – made up of Alannah Weston, Paul Kelly, each banner’s Managing Director and the Group Directors – met to discuss the recent employee opinion survey results, how we benchmark against the best and what kind of culture we want and need for the future. It was a fascinating day with lots of insights. For example, the top three drivers of engagement are the same in each of our banners!

We all agreed that while our engagement levels are good, we are not yet amongst the top performing companies and, therefore, we want to spend more time on this important topic, getting wider input from our teams so we can learn how to evolve our culture and be recognised as better than the best. Watch this space for more details.

Selfridges Group update

impact on the planet or other people”.

The question of luxury is, ultimately, a personal one; everyone decides for themselves what luxury means to them. Enjoying or affording luxury is not only a question of budget, but of individual circumstances and preferences. What does it mean to you?

The rise of mobile shopping and personalisation at de Bijenkorf

“Google ranked de Bijenkorf’s mobile website as one of the best in Europe in terms of its usability”

1 LG Signature, Modern Luxury Survey (2017)

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Brown Thomas and Arnotts system integration – it’s live!As part of Brown Thomas and Arnotts Integration Strategy, they have invested over €6M in their merchandise and warehouse management systems. These systems underpin their business and drive their ‘one business and two brands’ strategy. They went live with the new systems on 4 March 2018.

Brown Thomas Wild Beauty eventBrown Thomas Dublin unveiled a new pop-up beauty destination on its carpark rooftop, which hosted a mix of masterclasses and discussion panels with leading industry insiders to talk all things skincare, make-up and fragrances. Yoga, Pilates and fitness workout classes were also available throughout the event, which was held in February and March.

For its latest creative campaign, Selfridges is considering the over-use and dilution of the word ‘luxury’ through Radical Luxury, a major four-

part scheme that spans six months – the longest delivered to date.

The questions being explored include: how can we make luxury exciting and meaningful again? Is it found in an object or an idea? And who are the visionaries redefining the value of things?

Radical Luxury has kicked off with window displays, in-store graphics and visual merchandising that distort accepted notions of luxury. For example, the windows in the Oxford Street store each depict an icon of traditional luxury made from unexpected materials, such as pillars made of rubber, or a fountain made of wax.

The scheme also included Lamyland, an initiative that saw Michèle Lamy – artist, muse, mentor and wife/creative partner of fashion designer Rick Owens – bring her love of boxing to the Selfridges store in London, with fashion and art collaborations. In February, the Ultralounge space on the lower ground floor, was also transformed into a boxing gym, where customers and team members could book classes.

“How can we make luxury exciting and meaningful again? Is it found in an object or an idea? ”

The latest from Ireland

Arnotts Mother’s Day campaignA storewide initiative, Arnotts Mother’s Day campaign focused on our ‘Arnotts Mums’. To help celebrate Mother’s Day, we interviewed each mum – every one of whom had a different story to tell – for the Arnotts website. In addition, Arnotts rewarded each customer and team member mums by offering them a chance to win a Mother’s Day bouquet and a €250 Arnotts Gift Card.

Merchandising

Order Entry

Buying Tools

Stock Locator

Warehouse

Support

Click & Collect

Auto Replen

Markdown SIM

To further enhance the campaign,

Arnotts also offered a personalised Mother’s Day

card and branded Mother’s Day

photo.

Radical Luxury at Selfridges

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Career Case StudyThis quarter, we talked to Isabella ‘Izzy’ Desmarais,our first candidate on the ‘LEAP’ secondment programme

Selfridges Group career to date:

2018 Group HR Coordinator, Selfridges Group, London

2017 Employee Engagement Coordinator, Holt Renfrew

2016 HR Services Coordinator, Holt Renfrew

What have been your career highlights? Working in Employee Experience at Holt Renfrew was certainly where I found my passion for people. I assisted in the implementation of HoltsWOW (see more on pg.2!). Seeing first-hand that investing in employee engagement can, in fact, drive an organisation’s values and culture has been one of the most impactful ‘ah-ha’ moments.

Which mantras have helped you throughout your career? They are always changing! However, the ones that have always stuck with me are: never be afraid of taking career risks – you only regret the ones you did not take; and, regardless of individual job titles, we are all equal and deserve to be treated as such!

Describe your experience of living in London and working in Group HR. I moved to London from Toronto in January 2018, and it has been one of the most exhilarating times of my life. I count myself very fortunate to have been chosen as the first LEAP candidate and to be exposed to other working practices and perspectives. I look forward to continuing to learn from my secondment and taking these experiences and skills back to Holt Renfrew.

Ideas, questions or feedback? https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/N5KSVQF

Dior and Holts: celebrating a fashion revolution and a 70-year partnership

In 1947, Holt Renfrew signed an exclusive deal to sell Dior couture in Canada soon after Christian Dior’s first collection had been released. In celebration of our historic

partnership with Dior, Holts celebrated the House of Dior’s 70th anniversary as the key sponsor of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Christian Dior exhibition.

The exhibition, ‘Christian Dior presented by Holt Renfrew’, allowed guests to explore the brilliance of Christian Dior’s fabulous creations that revived the Parisian haute couture industry after the devastation of World War II.

Stairway to Leadership in Sustainability

Build We will map the carbon footprint of all banners and continue to deliver on our reduction targets. Last year, Brown Thomas and Arnotts introduced eco-friendly packaging and Brown Thomas reduced their carbon footprint by 12%.

Buy We will work together to engage more of our brand partners — by hosting a Selfridges Group roundtable with the CEOs from 20 luxury brands on the theme of sustainability and the customer experience. Last year, Holt Renfrew rolled out a Buying Better App to all merchant teams.

Ship We will make our logistics and distribution centres more efficient. Last year, de Bijenkorf won The Group Sustainability challenge with its amazing idea to reduce plastic packaging. This year, all banners will work to implement this idea.

Sell We will inspire positive action and promote more sustainable lifestyles. Last year, Selfridges launched a label highlighting sustainable attributes at product level – this has been awarded to 34 brands and over 500 products across the store.

Work We will engage and inspire action with our team members. All banners will launch volunteering opportunities this year. Last year, we asked team members across all banners whether they thought their banner was socially and environmentally responsible – 77% said ‘yes’, which is a positive start to build on over the coming year.

Last year, Daniella Vega, Director of Sustainability, worked with the Selfridges Group Team to develop a framework for sustainability. The framework – referred to as the ‘Stairway to Leadership in Sustainability’ – links to the Group Strategy.

From this framework, we have developed a plan for each banner, based on how far and how fast they wanted to progress over the next five years. In 2018, our banners are working towards these goals across five elements.

The Selfridges Group Strategy showing the link to Sustainability

To find out more about LEAP contact your HR team or email talent@selfridgesgroup.com