Q&A: Superdrug own-brand director Jamie Archer believes it is ‘the most inclusive retailer on the high street’

Jamie Archer started his career at Boots via an undergraduate programme. At 34, he became the youngest member of Superdrug’s board after being promoted to his current role of own-brand director in March 2022.

Since then, Superdrug’s own-brand range has seen rapid growth including the launch of its own makeup range Studio London late last year, and has driven revenue and profit for Superdrug.

Nine months after the launch of Studio London, Archer talks to Retail Week about the success of the range, democratising beauty for all and why Superdrug is the most inclusive retailer on the high street.

Have you managed to achieve all the goals you set out for Studio London since launch? 

“The Studio London range has knocked it out of the park in terms of its success. With our Studio London Setting Mist, for example, we’ve already gone out of stock on it twice. We can’t keep up with the demand and it’s up against a product in the market that’s five or six times the price.  

“One thing we established when we launched Studio London was that the pricing had to be everyday accessible. The prices start at £3, the vast majority of the range is £5 and under and it’s just the foundations that are £9, which is still incredible value when actually the quantity of the foundations is almost double that of other typical foundations on the market. 

“It’s been an unbelievable success. We’re going to beat the budget that we put in place for this year. We’ve got some exciting new products coming later this year and going into next year. Studio London is all about creativity, fun and experimenting, but it’s also about democratising these amazing products in the market and making them available to anyone in the UK.”

As we see inflation ease out going ahead, do you think own-brand sales will continue to see the same growth?

“I definitely think own-brand products are here to stay. While inflation is dipping customers still feel the pain and the pinch. 

“The key thing with own-brand is once customers make the switch from a branded product, they realise the quality is not only on par but in many, many instances better and it’s cheaper. If the quality stands out, which we know it absolutely does, you’ll never make the switch back.  

“So I think we will retain those customers that have made the switch. And I think more and more, particularly through social media like TikTok, or word of mouth, we’ll continue to grow own brand within our business.” 

What is the biggest challenge when it comes to the growth of own-brand products? 

“The biggest challenge for us is going up against some of the multi-million-pound marketing budgets of all the branded players. Because we put so much of our money behind the quality of the product, we deliberately don’t have huge marketing budgets at all. We really do rely on the product speaking for itself and word of mouth as being a key driver for us.” 

How do you make sure that Superdrug products stand out among other affordable skincare ranges like those from M&S or Boots?

“The whole budget beauty trend has come such a long way in 10 years. I think one thing we will never ever do is compromise on quality in order to make something affordable and to make sure they deliver on value.

“So we are really, really stringent on the formula and the formulation of the product that goes into that packaging. Customers are coming to us and expecting us to have the latest innovation and the latest product. That’s really been the biggest ship for us. 

“Superdrug is perfectly placed in the cost-of-living crisis that we’re in, because we have such a breadth of product. A lot of those retailers you’ve got out there are still renowned for premium and they do a brilliant job at doing premium.

“But customers come to us and whatever your income, whatever brand you’re looking for, there’s something in our shops for you. I think we truly are probably the most inclusive shop on the high street. If you want to come in and spend £100 on fragrance, we’ve got that covered. If you want to spend 80p on a shower gel, we’ve got that covered as well.”