Be Inspired: Beaverbrooks’ Anna Blackburn on becoming the first outsider to lead the family-run retailer

“You know Anna, if you work hard and do a good job, you will go far here,” Beaverbrooks managing director Anna Blackburn remembers chair Mark Adlestone telling her on a store visit just three weeks into her career with the jewellery retailer.

For Blackburn, the idea that she could one day run the company seemed a pipe dream, particularly because it had been family run since its foundation in 1919.

But that apparent pipe dream became a reality in 2013, when Blackburn became not only the first non-family member to lead Beaverbrooks, but the first woman too, when she was offered the role of chief executive.

Her career at Beaverbrooks, which began on the shopfloor in the Trafford Centre, has lasted over 20 years, including roles in Scotland where she met her now-husband.

In 2018, Blackburn took one big step further when she joined the board, changing her job title to managing director - another first for the retailer. 

Time to shine

Beaverbrooks has emerged as one of the pandemic winners. Consumers turned to little luxuries such as watches and even diamond rings to get them through the tough times and show commitment to their loved ones, even more so in the lead-up to this festive season.

The jeweller has reported a 28% uplift year-on-year in the nine months to November in diamond jewellery sales compared with 2019 - its most profitable year. Beaverbrooks sales overall were up a third in the run-up to Christmas despite the uncertainty of the new Covid variant.

In what will be a record-breaking year for the business, watch sales have also soared 58%, while gold and silver jewellery are up 28% and 43% respectively. These stellar results have been what Blackburn has strived to achieve over her eight years at the helm.

A self-confessed perfectionist, her “high standards” have been the focus of every role she’s held. After leaving university, Blackburn was set on a career in retail but felt like “a number” when attending open days for a number of big retailers.

Beaverbrooks, with its family and charitable values, set itself apart from the rest, offering, quite literally, a shining example what could be achieved in a retail career.

“Beaverbrooks felt perfect as I’ve always loved jewellery, and when I started to research what the company stood for, the values and the fact that it was family owned made me want to know more,” Blackburn explains to Retail Week.

“It didn’t have a graduate programme as such but they were advertising trainee management. I went along for an interview for a sales consultant role, and during that discussion fell in love with the business and its charitable nature - Beaverbrooks donates 20% of all post-tax profits to charities, while 45% of its colleagues donate to charities through payroll giving.

The company also gives employees two days off per year to do charity work.

“At the time there wasn’t a lot of that happening so being a part of a smaller business really sold it to me - you do have a voice here and you are listened to. 23 years later here I still am.”

Since Blackburn started, the company has grown from 32 stores to 72, and she has had a hand in crafting many of them.

From her first assistant manager post in Blackpool, up to manager in Braehead, Glasgow, regional manager, and eventually the role of head of operations in the retailer’s head office role in 2008. She held that role for four years before being promoted to head of retail - and it was then that she began to realise that her career could take her to the top.

“At the time I was seven months pregnant, and was asked about my next steps in my career and I said ’I’m a bit focused on having a baby at the moment’,” Blackburn remembers.

Taking the lead

In 2013, within 18 months of becoming head of retail, Blackburn was offered the position of chief executive when her predecessor, and family member, Daniel Brown exited.

“At the time it was a head and heart situation. I’d only been head of retail for 18 months and never really believed that the position would be an option in a family owned business,” she said.

“My head said you’ve got two kids under the age of five and an aging mother-in-law living with us, but I also knew that if I didn’t take the role that they would look to go externally. 

“I feel so passionate about the culture of the business and the way that we do work that I was concerned that it would be lost if someone new came in. 

“There wasn’t a choice there because I saw the alternative as damaging to the business. I’d already been at the business for 15 years so I was fully invested.”

Her position at Beaverbrooks was cemented five years later when she joined the board of directors, switching her job title.

Part of Blackburn’s love for the business comes from its values - all employees are given a voice in how it operates - as well as its charity focus - Blackburn for example spent a night sleeping rough in Blackpool city centre in 2019 to raise money for homeless charity StreetLife.

It is this employee feedback that also shaped how Blackburn acts as a leader.

“When I first had an appraisal of how I was doing in Braehead, I gave the team a questionnaire to give me feedback about how I was doing, and I got so much back,” she remembers.

“I got lovely feedback about what I was doing well but also feedback about how because I had such high standards and because I was so competitive that sometimes people felt that what they did was never good enough. 

“To get that honesty so early on in my career helped shape how I communicate my expectations now, and showed how important it is to take people on that cultural journey with you. It has helped shape how I approach every stage in my career. 

“I’m very collaborative and very competitive in nature, but being able to be realistic is fundamental to building the business.”

“The advice I would give to anyone starting out is: find something that you enjoy, and find the company that fits well with you”

Looking forward, Blackburn hopes to inspire the next generation of retail leaders.

“Retail isn’t always seen as a great career route,” she explains. “When I first came into the programme, people thought I was crazy going to sell jewellery on the shop floor, whereas what they’ve now seen is how happy I’ve been and for how long.

“The advice I would give to anyone starting out is: find something that you enjoy, and find the company that fits well with you. If you’re in an environment that suits you on a personal level, then that’s where you’ll thrive.”

As one of the few females running a retail business, and the first non-family member at Beaverbrooks, Blackburn’s career shows that a career in retail can create diamonds out of pipe dreams.