Glenn Pollard

"What first attracted me to working at Claire's is that when I got an understanding of the business I could see it had a real appetite for growth. At that point they were in a smaller group of stores in Europe, they expanded and they wanted to develop the business and move into many new countries. And so that was a really exciting time to become part of the business. What also attracted me to Claire’s was looking at the business proposition and visiting the stores – I got a real understanding that they are a niche retailer, one of the only retailers who's really got an understanding of their target customer, the teen and tweens, and tailor everything in store to really meet the demands of that customer. And being part of that really excited me."

"Since joining Claire's my career has really developed well. When I joined the business we were going through a period of restructure and change where the pan-European business was being set up. So, I was involved in the process where we constructed the teams, pulled the teams together and really focused in on the 13 countries in Europe and over the 1,000 stores we work with. What's been really exciting is that new leadership joined the business shortly after that and put development as a key focus of the business. So I've been involved in many training sessions, been trained on coaching techniques, feedback and relationship building, and so have all my direct reports. And that's been really exciting as it's meant my team really understand the focus and importance of development and driving for improvement of leadership skills."

"My current role in Claire's is the Head of Merchandising for Jewellery and Cosmetics division. I'm working alongside a team of very talented Merchandisers and Associate Merchandisers and my role is to support them into making good business decisions. So that is looking at budgets, the spend, how we're targeting the customer, the products we're buying into. I work alongside the Head of Buying in that role and we work as a team try to work with our teams to give them the direction and support to hit their company goals."

"What I enjoy about the role is the flexibility and the different things we get involved in, so on any current day I could be involved in product reviews with the teams, we could be doing monthly budget reviews, I could be presenting to the Senior Management Team on the performance of the areas. We could be working with our North American counterparts on looking at what are the best sellers in North America and trying to drive those into our business. I could also be doing one-to-ones and coaching sessions with my direct reports and working on appraisals or working on development plans to take them forward and to help them succeed."

"The working environment at Claire's is really stimulating; we have the product around us. It's at the centre of everything we do. You can see here that this is being shot in one of the model stores. We have three model stores downstairs that are fully ranged, even with the tills. And that allows us to see what the ranges will look like in store as they are coming through, which gives us great visibility at range building and being able to tailor the market. What is also good that the Merchandising and Buying teams work very closely together – it's a real husband and wife partnership and that allows for us to make quick decisions, targeting budget where we need to do to get on the latest trends. Our customer is really fashion savvy. The final thing that I find really good about our working environment is that we work very closely with our North American counterparts. So our teams go on trips four times a year, buying with the North American teams. And that creates a real good camaraderie on the trips. We all go on mass, we work together, we support each other on the decisions, and yes there is time on those trips as well to socialise, build bonds with your work mates, have a couple of beers, relax and it all makes for a fun environment and ensures we're building up a strong team."

"What's next for me at Claire's? Well speaking as a sales trader, I suppose the first and most important thing for me is driving the sales and my target is that we've got 200 million pounds of sales for the next financial year for my division and that's my key goal. But within that I also want to spend time developing my team members, really working with them to take them forward in their role so they’re supported and they can land the objectives they need to land. And I suppose the final part for that within Claire’s; we do a talent review, so we're always looking at how to progress people in the business. And speaking from my own perspective, I'm targeting to look at the role, which is the Vice-President role, and hopefully my direct report will move up as well, so I suppose that is my next move for me when it comes. But I've been in the business for years, I'm really enjoying it so I'm not in a rush – but it's definitely on the cards.”

"The part of the business I've been most proud of is that when I joined the business, the Jewellery Division, the part I'm in control of, had been going had been going through a tough trading environment and over the last three years we've worked together with all my direct reports and we've turned the business round and we've got a more focused range now that really meets the target customer needs. And that's been the thing I'm most proud of because we're now, in the past year, had a really strong year of growth and we've built a platform now to really take the business forward."

"What I like most working at Claire's is that we cater to a market of young girls who really enjoy fashion product and having fun buying fashion product. So what we try and do in the office environment is to embody that in how we work as well, so we have in tactile…means with the product, talking about what it means to the customer and that’s quite exciting and it keeps it quite fun and varied. What I also enjoy about working with Claire's is that we're a very re-active company. I can be sitting down with my teams on a Monday and talking what they need to drive their areas and we can have that in store landed within 48 hours. And that means we're very fast in how we react and I think that's a key advantage of ourselves compared to other companies. Where they have big lumbersome processes that have a high hierarchy, we don't have that we have quite a flat structure. And that means we're fast to react and in this environment a retailer who’s fast can be quicker and react better than a larger company. And that makes it a fun environment for me."