Analysis: How to get ahead in retail

Mike Coupe, group commercial director, Sainsbury’s

Mike Coupe first became involved in retail as a graduate trainee at Unilever, the multinational, fast-moving consumer goods business. Although he studied physics at university, he decided he wanted to have a career in business and marketing. Getting onto Unilever’s graduate programme during the 1980s recession was Coupe’s first big break.

He also benefited from joining Asda in 1993, when Archie Norman and Allan Leighton were running the turnaround of the grocer, a process that proved an incredible training ground, he says now.

Coupe says his background as a scientist has given him an edge in a retail industry that is now “driven by no end of analysis”. He adds that a willingness to experiment and challenge himself and organisations to try new ideas have also been helpful in his career.

But retail is all about people and Coupe says that an ability to get on with and influence people, both at head office and in stores, is vital to moving up.

“An innate ability to know how to manage people and do that with a level of authority is something I look for,” he says.

Coupe adds that those wanting to get ahead should be true to themselves when picking a role and a business, so that they will want to stick around.

Mark Price, managing director, Waitrose

Mark Price studied archaeology and ancient history at university – not perhaps the most obvious route into retail. He joined John Lewis’ graduate trainee programme, first working in its Southampton department store, and took the helm at Waitrose in 2007.

Price says it is possible to reach the top in retail without a university degree but those who manage it are “the exception rather than the rule”.

“It’s good to combine a university background with a deep understanding of how retail works,” he says.

Those wanting to become leaders in the industry need a practical outlook and a “feel for product”, as well as the ability to get on with customers and work hard, he believes. “You need to be a pretty natural marketeer and be good with people,” says Price, adding that the job is 2% study, 8% implementation and 90% getting on with people and knowing how to build a team around you.

The higher up the career ladder one moves, the more tricky a team approach can become, Price says. “You have got to use your persuasive powers as you are working with very senior and capable people. It is about being consensual and working together to find the best outcome.”

Price notes that there are many different disciplines in retail that individuals can specialise and build a career in, from IT to product development and marketing. He says: “Keep your head down, work hard and be judged by your results. Being openly ambitious might get you a job, but it can’t work for the long term unless you are delivering the best results consistently.”

Euan Sutherland, group chief operating officer, Kingfisher

Euan Sutherland first stepped into retail by managing Boots’ music and video product range, as part of a working year during his business management degree.

“The good thing in retail is that you can get real responsibility early on,” he says. “That’s what gave me the bug.”

Joining Dixons during the 1990s, when the electricals retailer had a strong in-house training scheme, provided Sutherland with the ideal training ground. “It was a bit of a school of hard knocks.

We had lots of very challenging retail projects to work on, but it was a big learning curve,” he says.

That training paid off when Sutherland secured the role of marketing director at Currys in his late twenties.

Sutherland believes that working in a number of roles across retail – in head office, marketing, supply chain and HR as well as stores – helped him gain valuable experience to drive his career. It is something he is keen to foster at Kingfisher, as the retail group now looks for people who have experience in stores as well as head office when picking its senior team.

The retailer also runs the Kingfisher Academy, a scheme that combines training and placement in various parts of the business to help prepare both graduates and non-graduates for senior management roles.

He says a degree is not necessarily important in reaching board level but good people skills are vital, both in being able to listen properly and in presenting information.

Sutherland adds: “Retail is pretty fast paced. You have got to love that and be very reactive to consumer and market situations.”

Tracey Clements, UK & Republic of Ireland support office director, Tesco

Having moved from a traditional grocer in rural Scotland to a director post at supermarket giant Tesco, Tracey Clements is the perfect example of the importance of shopfloor experience.

She first stood behind a till aged 14 and worked in her local grocer during school and university. When she completed her degree in geography, Clements joined Asda’s graduate trainee scheme.

But her first serious career springboard was when she was working as a management consultant for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young on a project for Tesco. The grocer asked her to join its in-house team.

A few years later, while at Tesco’s Japanese business, she was called back to the UK to run a large London shop. She sees that as her big break, a chance to prove herself as a retail operator. “Being a store manager was my favourite role. I liked being able to be the captain of my own ship and influence the store and how we served customers,” she says. That role led to managing a large group of stores and promotion to director level.

Clements says managing a store taught her how important it is to stay close to customers and to understand how contemporary culture, such as the influence of The X-Factor, or new Sunday trading laws, influences shopper behaviour.

She always seeks to promote those staff who “have a lot of drive and energy and a strong customer focus”. Clements adds: “You have to care about the industry, stores and the people who work in them.”

Getting ahead at director level also involves learning to talk about the things that concern a largely male set of colleagues, Clements admits. “You have got to learn a bit about cars and football, for example, which drive the conversations that go on between meetings,” she says.

Alex Gourlay, chief executive health and beauty division, Alliance Boots

Alex Gourlay has spent his entire career at Boots, starting out as a “porter” cleaning up the store on a Saturday, before rising right to the top.

He studied pharmacy at university, which he says combines scientific disciplines with caring for others. “I have always loved being in the shop and having contact with customers, so for me it was the perfect job combination,” he says.

Gourlay eventually became a Boots store manager, before being noticed by the management who enrolled him on a company development programme. “I was not a typical retailer. I was quite in the background and not unhappy with that, but Boots was very good at identifying people who delivered results,” he says.

In the early 2000s he moved to head office before taking on Boots’ retail businesses.

He believes those who want to get ahead need to prioritise the business over their career ambitions. “Commit to delivering and helping others deliver and then you will sustain a career. People will trust you,” he says. “It’s a team game and competing internally and selfish behaviour is the thing I respect the least.”

Gourlay adds that feeling aligned to the brand helps people commit. He says: “There has got to be a bit of the brand in you. Retail is a really visible job and if you are happy in what you do that will shine through.”

Matt Davies, chief executive, Halfords

A Stockport market stall selling shoes provided Matt Davies with his first experience of retail, but it didn’t inspire his career choice.

After studying accountancy at university he moved to corporate finance and found the job “fascinating”, as he helped advise a variety of different companies on their future.

Davies’ breakthrough in retail came when Pets at Home founder Anthony Preston picked him out of the advisory team for a job as finance director. “He took a 30-year-old guy and gave me a senior role in what was a £2m turnover business at that time,” he says.

When Preston stepped down, Davies took over as chief executive, leading the expansion of the retailer. Last month he joined Halfords, the car parts and bicycle specialist, as chief executive.

Given his career, Davies’ advice is not surprising: “Work hard. You never know who’s watching you. Be the guy that somebody goes to if they really need something doing. If they need it for that week, get it to them for tomorrow.”

Davies says he likes to promote those with a “can-do attitude and the right level of intelligence”. But he suggests being too earnest can be off-putting as most people prefer to work with someone who is good to spend time with.

He adds that a university degree isn’t a necessity. “University can be incredibly helpful in getting you onto the first rung,” he adds. “But as long as you have good personal skills, basic intelligence and the desire to do a great job it’s absolutely possible to become a director having never been to university.”

Tips from the top

• Be nice to people Retail is very much about people and teams. Whether it’s serving customers or getting along with colleagues at head office, a friendly disposition can get you a long way.
• Never be complacent An ability to constantly look for ways to improve how your company serves customers is likely to get you spotted.
• Love your brand If you believe in the company you work for you’re more likely to be devoted to helping it improve and grow.
• Work hard Becoming the reliable go-to person will get you noticed.
• A university degree It can help get you on the ladder but is not vital to reach the top.
• Get around A working knowledge of different territories, stores, online, marketing and operations can help you stand out.
• Catch the training Many top retailers have benefited from in-house training schemes. Seek out companies that will invest in you.