With the Winter frost reflecting an even colder

ANN SUMMERS / INTERVIEW
GIRL
A
1
Ann Summers
chief executive
Jacqueline Gold
1
18
ll that glitters may
not be gold, yet it
would make sense for
Jacqueline Gold to
have a twinkle in her
eye considering Ann Summers’ recent
performance.
However, despite results having
improved on the previous year, the
ambitious chief executive, daughter
of West Ham chairman David Gold,
remains unsatisfied.
“Our performance is up on last
year,” Gold says, “but it is not where we
would want it to be, because obviously
this is a challenging time. But there
are also opportunities and I think you
With the Winter frost
reflecting an even
colder economic climate,
what does it take to
make a lingerie company
successful in today’s
market? Ann Summers chief
executive Jacqueline
Gold talks about how the
company has survived over
the past few years and
why she disagreed with the
ban of its recent radio ad
campaign.
have to make the most of what you
have.”
And Ann Summers has never been
shy of doing just that. The company,
which has an annual turnover of £150
million, seeks to provide escapism for
the average woman through its parties
and products, a characteristic that
has the effect of driving women to its
stores in difficult times. This form of
distraction is something that Gold
seeks to highlight in her marketing
and the ‘fun’ image is one that continues to be important to the brand.
“I think when times are a little difficult, people like to cheer themselves
up,” she says. “Women will come to
our parties and have a little escapism.
They will come to our stores and treat
themselves with a sexy little piece of
lingerie or they will treat their partner
to something. I think that’s partly
what makes us unique.”
But, the ‘sexy’ image that attracts
many people to the brand can also act
as a deterrent. The controversy which
makes Ann Summers so popular has
attracted censure, most recently in
relation to a risqué radio advert that
was banned by authorities for being
overly lewd. The ad featured the sound
of a woman’s screams, which rapidly
turned to groans of pleasure. Though
it could not be played on air, the press
coverage Ann Summers received in
response to the ban was widespread
and the ad became a popular video on
LINGERIE INSIGHT / DECEMBER 2010 / www.lingerieinsight.com
You Tube, once again reflecting how
well controversy can sell.
While admitting the authorities’
decision did ironically work in the
brand’s favour, Gold claims she never
intended the advert to be banned and
says the advert was only intended as a
bit of ‘fun’.
“I think we are quite good at realising – and have done for many years
- controversy has played a big part in
our success, in getting our name out
there and making people understand
what we are about, and getting people
to talk about us,” she says.
“We didn’t go into that campaign
hoping it was going to be banned, of
course. There is a lot of money that
you spend on something like that
and we wanted to get it right. But we
don’t want to compromise who we are.
And unfortunately the advertising
authority that banned us, they tried to
compromise who we are. We felt that
the advert was acceptable and fun, but
clearly there are some stuffy nosed...
people out there that had a different
view.”
She adds: “If it means upsetting a
couple of people, so that we can be fun
and push those boundaries, then that
is what Ann Summers is all about.”
The advert ban is not the only challenge that Ann Summers has been
forced to face over the past few years.
Like many other businesses, it has
been forced to make cuts in order
INTERVIEW / ANN SUMMERS
to remain competitive. While Gold
claims the swimwear, introduced to
Ann Summers stores earlier this year,
has been performing well, she admits
that in other areas the company has
been forced to tighten its belt.
“Obviously, we have made cuts,”
she says, “but cuts that don’t affect
us driving our sales. It is an ongoing
thing and it could involve putting up
posters, decorating our reception, just
cutting back on the fat. When times
are good, we all have a tendency to
overindulge and, then, when times are
not so good, you have got to be quite
strict.”
Gold refuses to let the savings affect
the company’s ability to drive sales
and has prioritised spending on research and product development. She
has also taken advantage of the economic climate to open new stores.
“We have not held back in that
area,” Gold explains, “because, obviously, equally in these times there is
opportunity.”
And new stores need promotion.
Gold believes that this is important
to be competitive and to demonstrate
to the consumer that the product provides value for money. However, she is
also aware that this can be taken too
far and that a brand can appear desperate if it continually slashes prices.
One way of avoiding this, according
to Gold, is by not always responding
to what others are doing on the high
street.
“If you try to do what your competition is doing to the tee, you can find it
affects your margins,” she says. “We
often don’t necessarily take the lead
on the high street when it comes to
sales or going into early sales. I think
you have to be true to yourself and
what is right for your business, and
not necessarily respond to what everybody else is doing.”
It has been a struggle for Gold
throughout her life to be unique.
With West Ham chairman and multimillionaire David Gold as a father, it
has not always been easy for the Ann
Summers chief executive to be taken
on her own merit. Whilst growing
up with money and a famous dad
2
might not be considered by many to
be a hardship, Gold claims that it presented its own range of obstacles to
overcome.
“At the time I probably though it
was a negative,” she says, “because
he was very tough with me. He didn’t
want to show nepotism. And all those
barriers, they actually force you to
get on with it and prove yourself even
more. And, of course, he has been an
amazing great role model and a great
inspiration. I have been very lucky to
have him as my mentor.”
Gold has more than proven herself
as an individual. To date, she has been
voted the second Most Powerful Woman in Retail by Retail Week, one of the
Most Inspirational Businesswomen
in the UK by Barclays Bank, one of
Britain’s Business Icons by Nat West
Bank and one of Britain’s Top Businesswomen by publications including
Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Woman, and
Good Housekeeping.
The Daily Mail also listed Jacqueline
as one of Britain’s 100 Most Influential
Women and she was made Business
www.lingerieinsight.com / DECEMBER 2010 / LINGERIE INSIGHT
2
Sheer Delight bra
by Ann Summers
19
ANN SUMMERS / INTERVIEW
3
“I would love to expand into the US, but the timing
has to be right. That would be fantastic, absolutely
fantastic. I can’t wait.”
3
Encore cami by
Ann Summers
20
Communicator of the Year 2004 by the
British Association of Communicators
in Business.
But, it has been a bittersweet year
for the business woman, whose childhood ambition was to become a window dresser. Years of IVF treatment
resulted in the birth of twins Alfie
and Scarlett in 2009, but Alfie was
born with a brain disorder and died
after just eight months. A few months
later, in May, 2010, Gold entered into
marriage with long term partner and
City trader Dan Cunningam. With the
chaos taking place in her private life, it
would not be surprising if she had let
the business side of things slip. Gold
admits that keeping both sides of her
life in balance is not always easy.
“One minute, you think you have
got it just right and the next minute
you are thinking ‘I am really stressed,
I need to re-evaluate,’ she says. “But,
unfortunately, that is what we do as
women. Ask any woman with children
and they will say they all their life juggling the balls and trying to be there
for everybody, and it is sort of what we
LINGERIE INSIGHT / DECEMBER 2010 / www.lingerieinsight.com
do, but it is not a challenge that is ever
going to go away.”
It is a challenge that Gold intends to
take up wholeheartedly. Gold wouldn’t
describe herself as a feminist, claiming that ‘we perceive feminists as not
being feminine,’ but she believes in
equality and would never describe
herself as ‘anti-men.’ Apparently, it is
all about balance.
“I think feminism for me is a bit old
fashioned now,” she explains. “Times
are changing. There are still not
enough successful women in business
and I think there are some areas of injustice, but I don’t think women want
to be unfeminine anymore.”
Gold is one of a growing number
of successful and powerful women in
the lingerie business. Other big names
include Rigby & Peller owner June
Kenton, Ultimo’s Michelle Mone and
Coco de Mer founder Samantha Roddick. However, the Ann Summers boss
does make clear that ‘if you are talking department stores, then they are
all run by men.’
And, while a proponent for the female cause, Gold has no intention of
letting her feelings about empowering
women affect her business decisions.
In 2011, she plans to continue innovating to stay ahead of the competition. She also hopes to expand in the
upcoming years and is waiting for
the optimum moment to take such a
step. Eventually, Gold claims that she
would love to take Ann Summers to
the US, where she believes there is a
big opportunity for the brand.
“I would love to expand into the US,
but the timing has to be right,” she
says. “That would be fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait. I think
the opportunity is there now, but we
are not willing to take big risks in new
ventures until the economy starts to
improve and I think it is more responsible to focus on ensuring that our
core business is stable and doing well.”
Gold finishes: “I want world domination. I am impatient, so I want this
blooming recession to hurry up. Do
you think Cameron is going to do that
for us? He might need the help of some
strong women, mightn’t he?”