Brexit, Brand Britain and Building the future of luxury

My interview on 10 years of Walpole's Brands of Tomorrow programme in this week's Drapers

Drapers interview – Helen Brocklebank

What is Walpole and what do you do?

Walpole is the industry body for the British luxury sector, worth ￡32.2 billion to the UK economy and employing around 115,000 people. Walpole protects, promotes and develops the interests of its 200+ members, which include Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Claridge’s, Dunhill, Harrods, Glenmorangie, Net-A-Porter, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Wedgwood.

A significant part of our activity lies in nurturing future talent with our mentoring programmes - investing the time, skills and expertise of established British luxury brands in the next generation. Brands of Tomorrow develops fledgling luxury businesses and gets them ready for the next stage of their journey - Bremont, Orlebar Brown, Charlotte Olympia and Emilia Wickstead all came through the programme and this year’s mentees include Hillier Bartley, Duke and Dexter and Camilla Elphick. Our work with the London Business School's MBA programme helps to develop the luxury C-Suite of the future, and Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional, is focused on craftsmanship and making.  

Tell us about your career – how did you end up at Walpole?

I've spent most of my career working with luxury brands, either whilst running my own luxury content agency, which I did immediately before joining Walpole earlier this year, or in my work in luxury publishing, so I'd developed a deep sector understanding as well as being well known in the industry, all of which helps me deliver value as Chief Executive of Walpole. British Luxury is the jewel in the crown of the UK economy and I'm on a mission to get it the recognition it deserves.

Tell us more about the Brands of Tomorrow programme? Why have it? What’s its aim?

Brands of Tomorrow is a unique mentoring programme which takes up to 12 carefully selected fledgling brands through a 12-month programme of workshops and mentoring to help develop their business skills and set them on a path to growth. I’m so proud of its track record; brands like Orlebar Brown, Emilia Wickstead, Finlay & Co, Business of Fashion, Private White V.C., Osman, Trunk Clothiers, Charlotte Olympia and Bremont are all graduates of the scheme.

Walpole’s mentorship programmes ensure we are searching out and securing the future of the luxury industry in the UK. The sector as a whole is committed to creating a pipeline of future economic prosperity and to developing jobs and skills and in the context of Brexit it feels more important than ever that these new brands are given the support they need to move onto their next stage of growth.

We believe that these programmes support the success and dynamic growth of this important industry through transference of skills, experience and know-how to ensure continued creative development and growth. They create mutually beneficial relationships between established and up-and-coming luxury brands and individuals, which not only allows the British luxury industry – and the wider business economy – to thrive, but to flourish.

How do you select brands for this? What’s the criteria? Who are your judges etc?

The application process for Brands of Tomorrow opens in the autumn with brands invited to apply via our website (www.thewalpole.co.uk). In order to be eligible for the Brands of Tomorrow programme, selected companies need to exemplify the highest standards of quality, style and craftsmanship and aspire to develop into full Walpole members.

The key criteria include:

·        Annual turnover of more than ￡100,000 but no more than ￡4 million

·        An entrepreneurial management style

·        A clear vision of the future of the brand

·        Commitment to a two-way partnership in the programme, which will include active participation and regular constructive feedback with the Walpole mentors

Following a rigorous Dragons Den-style pitch process, the judging panel select 12 brands to take forward with the programme. In 2016 we received around 70 applications for 12 places.

The judging panel is currently Jonathan Heilbron, Chairman of Brands of Tomorrow, Helen Brocklebank, CEO, Walpole and programme sponsors Joanna Blackburn, Partner, Mishcon de Reya; Anna Sweeting, Partner, Sloane Point Partners

What new and up and coming businesses do you have your eye on?

This year's Brands of Tomorrow intake has been incredibly strong - of the fashion focused brands, Hillier Bartley is a great combination of proven creative talent with a new, exciting take. Duke + Dexter have taken the 'one core product, a thousand different iterations' trend and made it their own - I like their effortless yet cool bespoke angle too, Camilla Elphick has a very British idiosyncratic creative edge and I love how each pair of her shoes is a talking point - she adds something both synergistic and fresh to the new wave of upscale women's footwear

What do the selected brands get from the programme?

The programme participants are paired with some of the UK’s most experienced luxury executives who provide a year of personal mentoring and one-to-one coaching, sharing their knowledge and expertise with the next generation. Participants also benefit from bespoke group workshops curated by leading experts on topics such as finance; distribution landscape, department stores and franchising; law, structure & recruitment, PR & marketing; branding & creativity, and eCommerce, IT & logistics – with the aim to equip them with the business acumen and networks needed to flourish.

What we’ve discovered over 10 years of the programme and was reinforced by the Walpole 100: Secrets of the Luxury Entrepreneurs campaign, is the immeasurable benefit gained from having a support network of likeminded peers from which to learn and grow and also how uniquely collaborative and nurturing the luxury sectors is in terms of the mentor/mentee relationship.

Tell us about the programme’s history – some of the success stories (fashion focus).

The idea for the Brands of Tomorrow programme was born out of a strategic review of the sector where we recognised there was an opportunity and a need to build a pipeline of the next generation of British luxury brands to secure the long term growth of the sector.

John Ayton MBE took up the challenge of turning a brilliant idea into a reality. His passion, energy and vision were transformative in creating this successful mentorship programme We spent months searching for and finding some of the most exciting entrepreneurial businesses in luxury sector and launched the programme in April 2007 with our first Walpole Brands of Tomorrow - Astley Clarke, Bremont, Fitzdares, Nyetimber, Miller Harris and Persephone Books.

Many now well-known designers and brands have been mentored through the programme including Orlebar Brown, Emilia Wickstead, Finlay & Co, Business of Fashion, Private White V.C., Osman, Trunk Clothiers, Charlotte Olympia, Bremont and Camilla Elphick to mention only a handful. In total we have supported 85 businesses.

This year the programme celebrates 10 years – what are you doing to celebrate?

We’ve launched The Walpole 100: Secrets of the Luxury Entrepreneurs campaign which celebrates the extraordinary talent, innovation and creativity of the British luxury sector. The Walpole 100 brings together 50 luxury entrepreneurs, mentors and Brands of Tomorrow participants to create an insider’s guide - the 100 top tips and advice - on what it takes to become a luxury entrepreneur and includes some of the best known names in British luxury including Bremont, Charlotte Olympia, Charlotte Tilbury, Farfetch, House of Hackney, Rodial and YOOX Net-a-Porter. The Walpole 100 demonstrates how Brands of Tomorrow, has helped create the future global luxury brands: you’re only one good idea, a lot of hard graft away from becoming the next big British luxury brand!

We are also hosting a party in celebration of the 10th anniversary at Michcon de Reya’s incredible Africa House headquarters in London where we will launch a new insights report with Walpole Corporate Partner and global trend forecaster, WGSN, entitled ‘Future-proofing your brand’. We are delighted to welcome Alice Temperley MBE, Founder & Creative Director, Temperley London; Bonnie Takhar, CEO, Charlotte Olympia; Frieda Gormley, founder, House of Hackney; Ilaria Pasquinelli, ?Global Brand & Propositions Director, WGSN and John Ayton Founder of Brands of Tomorrow, Links of London and Annoushka who will share their personal experiences of luxury entrepreneurship with our guests, before an evening of cocktails, live music and product showcases from some Brand of Tomorrow past and present.

What are the biggest challenges facing British luxury brands at the moment?

In common with all businesses, Brexit is the single biggest challenge. For the British luxury sector, the big issues are around free movement of people - 30% of the overall workforce are EU nationals and have an extraordinary skill set and viewpoint which makes British luxury fly - think what the dream team of Italian CEO Thierry Andretta and Spanish Creative Director Johnny Coca have achieved at Mulberry, for example, so access to and retention of luxury talent is a focus. Supply chain and free movement of goods is another headache - Prada owned British men's shoe icon, Church's makes in Northampton but raw materials and finished goods travel all over the continent and the friction-free borders we've been used to are critical to the business model. It's crucial to make our voice heard here in our own government, but importantly we work incredibly hard behind the scenes with our fellow luxury associations across Europe to make sure the EU side of the negotiations is supportive of our sector and our common interests across Europe. I'm also frustrated that whilst Walpole was instrumental in getting sector recognition for luxury in the EU, we now need to do that all again in our own government. However, that being said, luxury businesses take a long term view of their businesses and brand health - the currency fluctuations have brought huge numbers of visitors to Britain which has been really beneficial for retail, and despite the challenges of Brexit, the future looks very strong.

What are the biggest opportunities?

The value of the British bit of British Luxury has never been more alluring to customers, which might seem counterintuitive in the context of Brexit, but is nonetheless a big pull/ This is particularly evident when it comes to creativity and craftsmanship - what Dunhill is doing with its leather goods manufacture in Walthamstow is very interesting - expanding capacity, opening it up so that customers can come and see how the making happens: that combined with a fresh, relevant contemporary design direction and digital storytelling is a good example of a brand focused on the opportunities in the sector. And digital, of course, taps right into the export focused luxury business model, offering an amazing global shop window. Brands that have an incredibly slick customer offer online and an experience-led, playful, rich experience in store will win the customer. 

 What do you think the key to success is now for luxury brands? If you could give just a couple of pieces of snappy advice?

Heritage should be a jump off point for innovation, not a legacy millstone.  A brand's history creates authenticity and emotional connection, but only if it is used dynamically to look forward in a fresh, relevant way. What's past is only prologue.

What do you think the key to success is now for luxury brands? If you could give just a couple of pieces of snappy advice?

1. The product is the keepsake that reminds you of a unique, memorable experience - luxury has always been about the way you feel, but that is more important than ever before - create compelling experience first, purchase will follow

2. Authenticity is a crucial connection point for the millennial consumer - be sincere, be genuine, be honest (but don't be worthy)

3. Heritage must be a springboard for relevance not a legacy millstone. The past is only prologue 

What brands or businesses do you most admire in the wider luxury sector and why? (focus on fashion ideally, or what fashion people can learn from them)

Gucci has nailed it over the past couple of years - it's not only the clever, playful aesthetic, it's innovations like the wildly successful customisation activity in Harrods this season - in a digital world where everything can be endlessly reproduced and shared, what you want is something that is uniquely yours, either a product or an experience that only you have with the brand. I was also impressed with how powerfully they've used their Chatsworth sponsorship - it's no badging exercise but clever, unexpected and experiential. Crucially, Gucci connects the Chatsworth stories back to product - who wasn't captivated by the Never Marry a Mitford jerseys at Milan Fashion Week?

Dior is another European heritage brand that's saying something new and authentic at the moment without losing sight of its connection to its 70 year legacy. Maria Grazia Chiuri taps into a very zeitgeisty activist sentiment by translating Dior's quintessential femininity into feminist sending models down the catwalk earlier this year with 'We should all be feminist' t-shirts, the slogan comes from the title of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted Talk. As Maria Grazia Chiuri says 'When you are a woman making clothes for women, then fashion is not just about how you look. It is about how you feel and how you think.”

She continued the thought process this season: a copy of Linda Nochlin’s ground-breaking 1971 feminist essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? was left on every seat. That treatise on art history and the patriarchy became a key part of the show, its title used as a slogan on a Breton T-shirt worn by the first model.

Fashion, it seems, needs a very strong point of view these days, and not only from an aesthetic point of view

Where do you see the future of luxury progressing? Experience? Craft? Omni channel or a focus online etc?

Personalisation is the future - it's not 'luxury' but 'my luxury' - think of Harrods new Wellness centre where every treatment from skincare to nutrition is tailored to the customer's DNA profile, or of Gucci's DIY customisation, and of Orlebar Brown's Design Your Own #Snapshorts.