Selfridges Group CEO Anne Pitcher: Leading A Retail Icon

It’s tough to lead an icon. Or follow one. Some transitions work, like Tim Cook’s tenure at Apple since Steve Jobs. Some don’t or perhaps couldn’t. Imagine the Oprah Show without Oprah Winfrey.

For anyone in the UK, Selfridges is that sort of icon.

In November I explored this leadership challenge with Anne Pitcher, the soon-to-transition Managing Director (aka, CEO) of Selfridges Group, a group of retail brands at the pinnacle of luxury retail. We discussed the future of retail and her reflections on what she’s learned through years of dramatic change. Please find the full interview here:

During her tenure, Selfridges was voted by industry peers as the “world’s best department store” four times in a decade.

Before we get to Anne’s insights, I’d like to share why I’m inspired, as a professor of innovation and leadership, by Selfridges.

My Hometown Icon

For me, growing up in Chicago, Marshall Field’s was an institution. Their flagship store, built in 1887, anchored the State Street shopping boulevard. Every Christmas season my family made the pilgrimage downtown to experience the decorated windows and lights. (And buy stuff.)

The ethos remains today in an oft-quoted saying of the store’s founder, Marshall Field: “Give the lady what she wants.”

In 2005, Macy’s Corporation acquired Marshall Field and Company and eventually retired the brand. Macy’s is a great store operator, but for a Chicagoan like me the magic is gone.

Selfridge’s Heritage and Future

London-based Selfridges holds singular honors in the world of luxury retail. Named for their visionary founder, Harry Gordon Selfridge (I’m proud to say an American Midwesterner by birth) learned the retail trade at—any guesses?—Marshall Field’s.

Selfridge emigrated to London in 1906 and opened his first store in 1909. He later became known as the ‘Earl of Oxford Street’, so outsized was his influence on London’s luxury scene.

Today, Selfridges Group also includes marquee names in The Netherlands and Ireland and, until recently, the Holt Renfrew franchise in Canada.

The dramatic transformation underway in retail, from online commerce and digital engagement to increased focus on sustainability and ethical supply chains, requires leadership capable of celebrating the past while navigating the future.

It’s a challenge Pitcher relishes. “The current model of retail is broken. That’s exciting.”

Space to Imagine

In September, 2022, I spoke for a three-day gathering with leadership from across the Selfridges Group, Mapping the Future.

The roster included truly visionary thinkers such as ‘big history’ pioneer Professor David Christian, author and essayist Julia Bell and Cambridge neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow. Pitcher provided her team the space to imagine far beyond retail’s day-to-day, to engage trends of import for their customers and stakeholders.

In her opening remarks she admonished, “Don’t worry about merchandising while you’re here. Immerse yourself in where the world might go and what’s important for the customers and communities we serve.”

The venue itself, ‘The Old Selfridges Hotel’, reflected one way we should all approach the future: a malleable space to imagine. Shuttered as a hotel in 2008, the company maintains the space as a black box for flexible use. Arts events, invitation-only experiences for their best customers and brand partners—whatever supports the objectives of the company and their stakeholders.

It’s a cool re-configurable space on one of the best streets in the Empire. Raw and Promethean in a centuries-old context.

Selfridges is a study in such contrasts, a successful synthesis of sometimes contradictory concepts. The company’s culture is fundamental to this flexibility, and as a Chinese saying asserts, Culture comes down from the house of the Emperor.

From assuming leadership of Selfridges in 2011 and the group in 2019 till her graceful exit on December 21, 2022, that emperor has been Pitcher.

Why Am I In The Sub-Basement?

Pitcher’s career in retail began at the age of 17 with a training program. Her first role didn’t feel auspicious, fielding customer calls in the sub-basement.

She recalls challenging her boss. “Why am I here when I want to be a fashion buyer?” In retrospect, she sees her underground-up opportunity as ideal preparation for leadership. “You need to know how the whole thing works.”

Prior to our interview I conversed with various Selfridges team members. I heard words about Pitcher not often used together: Formidable and Approachable, Strategic and Forensic, Performance and Meaning. When a leader can embody capabilities and values that are typically difficult to combine, they attain a power of what designers call “Yes, And.”

Faced with new ideas, many of us focus on constraints. The “yes, but…” reaction. When we recognize we don’t know everything and embrace uncertainty, we discover new possibilities. The “yes, and.”

Pitcher’s ability to balance apparently conflicting styles reflects a capability all leaders must acquire: performing in the present while investing for the future. If we only manage for the near term, eventually we’ll fail. Customer interests change. Similarly, we cannot succeed in the long run if we fail to perform along the way.

Skate Bowls and Quiet Hours

Wander through the 'Designer Street Room’ in the flagship store and you’ll stumble on a skate bowl. Where most retailers shun skateboarding on site, Selfridges recognized an opportunity. Skateboarders, children and adults interested in learning the sport, even customer voyeurs, gather throughout the day. They convey vitality and creative energy not typical for a luxury shop floor.

Conversely the company discovered that some customers prefer peace and quiet. The store instituted “Quiet Hour” every Wednesday from 1000 am – 1100 am. They shut off all music and media. Scott Lynch, Director of Internal Communications, explained, “Selfridges is all about creating an inclusive experience, so by turning off music during this time it means people can enjoy a calmer environment.”

Skate rinks and quiet hours. Conflicting concepts in concert.

Human Beings, Not “Consumers”

“I hate the ‘consumer’ word,” Pitcher proclaimed. I asked what word we might use instead. “We could have a go at ‘people’ or ‘humans.’ People have feelings. People have a spirit of their own. ‘Consumer’ just flattens it all out.”

Considering stakeholders as people improves our insights and actions. “If you start by trying to sell something, it’s probably all over.” If you seek to understand them, you’re more likely to build a relationship. Connection, trust, even intimacy.

Such connections help explain why brands like Selfridges, Apple and Oprah attain meaning for so many people. Pitcher translates this as a guiding principle. “We must make retail a vital part of people’s lives.”

The company’s Project Earth exemplifies how the company translates stakeholder interests into relevant action. It’s a broad sustainability initiative. For instance, “Reselfridges” aspires to create truly circular offerings in resale, rental, repair, refill and recycle. Fix your handbag, rent your fashion, refill your face cream. The company has made a bold commitment to achieving 45% of their transaction from such circular products and services by 2030.

Making good on their proclamation, “Let’s change the way we shop.”

New Stewards, New Horizons

The Canadian family that owned Selfridges Group from 1995 until this year, the Westons, provided an environment within which the company could evolve. Doing so generated a greater than 10x return.

The group’s new ownership, Central Group of Thailand and Signa Holding of Austria, are both retail experts. They have a special stewardship opportunity. Success will require balancing and synthesizing sometimes conflicting priorities.

Meanwhile, Pitcher will join Holt Renfrew, the Canadian division retained by the Weston family, as Deputy Chair. I’m eager to see how they continue to make retail a vital part of people’s lives.

And I’d love to see them buy Marshall Field’s.