1) Describe what working as part of the retail management team at Harrods is like?
It's fantastic. We work very closely as a team to develop, coach and inspire our sales teams to deliver an exceptional experience for our customer through our motto of: "Anything is possible".
We work hard, challenge each other, and learn from every experience we have to continuously improve our results and realise the personal potential of every individual.
2) What is the structure of the retail team?
The structure of the team is designed to benefit the most important people; the customers. We have recently doubled our assistant manager team who provide development, coaching, and support to the sales team delivering the customer experience.
We have also realigned our senior management team to provide global leadership, strategic direction and more efficient decision making to create clear opportunities for development and progression.
3) Harrods is renowned for its luxury product offering, but what opportunities does it offer its employees beyond the shop floor?
The opportunities are considerable at Harrods as we have such a wide breadth of disciplines within the organisation ranging from retail, sales, personal shopping, engineering, estate agency, marketing, buying, customer relationship management and distribution.
We also provide one of the most comprehensive learning and development offers of any organisation, which provides a large range of specific and bespoke training.
In addition to this we have a Harrods management programme to support new and aspiring managers to develop their management skills, plus graduate and school leaver programmes, and we are one of the only retail businesses to have a specific Harrods degree.
Harrods is an ideal environment for anyone who is motivated to learn and ambitious for career progression.
4) How does Harrods develop its retail management team?
We use a combination of training and coaching to develop new skills and capability for the management team, as well as personal development plans to identify aspirations and support them to progress within the business.
We also try to give people the opportunity to try new things by working on storewide projects or initiatives so that they can gain new experiences, work with a different team and develop new skills.
5) What can you say to people who might have negative preconceived ideas about working in a luxury retail environment?
Luxury retail is really focused on the customer and we have the privilege to meet and get to know our customer in a way that some other businesses may not.
Our customers demand a quality product and it is up to us to provide a personalised experience by getting to know them, and understand their lifestyle and preferences so that we are able to provide the best product for them.
6) What are the benefits of working for a standalone department store compared to working in a flagship store?
One of the key benefits of working for a standalone department store is that you have the ability to offer the customers a wide range of categories and goods under one roof. We also provide a wide range of services from alterations, gift wrap to interior design to really cater for all their needs in a single environment.
This, in turn, means that our sales employees have the option to broaden their skills should they want to explore different areas, or specialise in a specific field. Our structure allows for lateral growth as well as traditional ascension.
7) Do you only look for candidates with experience in other luxury retailers?
No, experience can be extremely valuable but what is much more important is their ability to relate to people, build relationships, and align their values with those of our business. Every person who works in the store will be responsible for creating an experience for the customer which in turn creates the reputation of Harrods.
We can provide training and develop capability and expertise, but the personality and values of the individual are fundamental to deliver with passion, integrity and pride.
8) What's the toughest part of working in the luxury retail industry?
The luxury customer has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and the biggest challenge we have is to make sure that we understand our customers, their lifestyles, and how we can adapt to deliver for them. We have to be incredibly agile and we have to be many things to many people.
Luxury today is more about experience and we are obsessive about delivering the best possible experience to every customer, which is not always easy but a wonderful challenge to rise to.
9) Harrods is steeped in history, but how is it innovating its retail offering?
In retail we are focused on creating an experience like no other for our customer. We invest heavily in training and development to ensure that our sales teams are absolute experts, and that they have information available to them to be able to provide answers to the customer. Whether a customer wants to buy a teddy bear or a diamond ring, we want to provide a personal experience unlike any other experience they will find.
Some of the advances in innovation and technology have resulted in this becoming less important in the industry, but service has always been a part of our DNA and, regardless of anything else, is our primary focus.
10) What would your advice be to someone looking to apply to a career in retail management at Harrods?
My advice would be to make sure you have worked on the sales floor first. No amount of training or education can give you a greater insight.
As a manager the most important role you have is to provide inspirational leadership to a team of people and if you understand their role, you will have a significant advantage and appreciation of how to motivate and lead them.
This content was funded and produced by Harrods.
