Interview: Robina Dam

She’s a force to be reckoned with in the boardroom but it’s her innate passion for clothing and accessories that drives Belinda Earl forward,
as well as Jaeger, the luxury fashion label of which she is the Group CEO

WHEN THE TALL, slim woman in a black trouser suit enters the meeting room in a store in London’s West End, an instant sirocco of activity appears to
swirl around her. When you learn that the person is Belinda Earl, the Group Chief Executive of the British luxury fashion brand Jaeger since September 2004,
who developed a reputation in the retail industry for “getting things done”, it’s easy to see why.

With several different collections now under the label’s umbrella, and its number of stores expected to mushroom in the UK – this currently stands
at 137 – as well as double overseas due to its plan for expanding into eight new territories, Jaeger is putting up a good fight.

Not for nothing was this woman known as a whirlwind who shook up, shook down and turned around the UK’s retail high
street. After leaving her mark at the Debenhams department store (more of which later) Earl has now been building up
her vision to bring as much success to Jaeger.

And she has the results to prove it. “It’s been very bullish growth. Our sales are up 22% from last year’s £58.1m so that we hit the
£70m mark for year ending 2007,” she states, speaking with customary briskness when we meet after her return from a summer break in Devon.

The upward sales fi gures show how the British fashion house, which had gone through a decline and had a staid image problem, has now undergone
a major overhaul of perception; rather like the refurb of its fl agship store in London’s Regent Street. “We’ve invested heavily in extending our property portfolio
and refi tting our existing stores, such as our fl agship store on which we spent £1.5m, in the past 12 months,” says Earl. “ This is a continuing process.”

And it clearly needed an overhaul. As she herself alludes to Jaeger’s troublesome history where it changed ownership faster than the rise of hemlines (“the brand has had a lot of experiences; not all of them pleasant”), the constant chopping and
changing led to confusion in the products and a lack of direction for the business. Then came entrepreneur Harold Tillman who bought Jaeger
in 2003 and introduced not only stability but also a dynamic Group CEO.

“Jaeger has had a huge presence in many [international] markets. It’s 123 years old so it’s a brand with a very rich heritage. But it
changed hands several times in a very short period of time,” says Earl, 45. “After Harold Tillman acquired the brand, we consolidated.
Certainly in our fi rst year, we concentrated very much on the British market and getting the business right here, as it’s 95% of the business.”

That period of refl ection and regrouping has paid dividends in the long-term. With focus groups and intensive research carried out to fi nd out where the
house had lost its way, Earl found herself in the position of inheriting a brand that was known for old-fashioned quality (Deborah Kerr and Vivien Leigh
were among the 1950s stars who had worn the clothes) but that was not the label of choice for fashion-savvy professional 20- to 30-somethings.

Unlike certain other luxury brands which were so keen to court a new demographic that they all-too-enthusiastically discarded the older
generation, Earl pursued a more cautious, yet commercially viable option: “We didn’t want to lose our core customer base. We’ve been careful
to keep it as an evolution,” she states. So the newer, more fashion-forward line, which was christened Jaeger London, had the likes of edgier
supermodels such as Jade Parfi tt and Erin O’Connor fronting them. She continues: “But now that we have much richer content and confi dence in the brand’s positioning, a lot of the product development
means we can now talk about expanding overseas.”

Since she came on board three years ago, Earl has overseen the launch of Jaeger London for both men and women, Jaeger London
Accessories and, in the past year, Jaeger Black which had a very distinct image from the rest of the mainline collection.

“It was launched with the sole intention of raising the luxury credentials of the brand,” Earl explains. “It is affordable
couture with beautiful fabrics, cut and detail.” At present, it is only available in the fi ve stand-alone Jaeger stores (Regent
Street, King’s Road and Knightsbridge in London, as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow) but there are seductive noises emanating
from overseas buyers.

Now comes the most mass-intensive launch to date: this month’s unveiling of Jaeger London scent. “It’s the perfect
extension to the brand and we’ve spent two years in developing the fragrance,” says Earl. “The scent costs £35 whereas a Jaeger
London dress costs £200 so it’s a way to introduce a new buyer to the market.”

While she has ensured that the scent will
reinforce the brand’s repositioning and also boost the company awareness by being available in major department stores throughout the country, it’s still been done with
a difference. Rather than the usual two-sized fragrance bottles, this one comes in versions aimed at the dressing table, for the handbag and for travel.

“The travel collection is the same scent in miniature and will really hit the mark, as we know these days that customers, whether they are
travelling for work or pleasure, want to use the same products as you normally do at home.”

And it’s something that Earl herself will certainly be the best guinea pig for, since her travel time will be inclining as steeply as Jaeger’s sales
figures shortly. For it is this international push that is the new thrust of Earl’s expanding empire.

“In Europe, we currently have two stores, in Zurich and Copenhagen, but we have huge opportunities to expand across the Continent, particularly Spain
and France,” says Earl, “and we’re also looking at the Eastern Bloc and Russia.”

While the company has partners in Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Canada (the local intelligence is used to tailor the stock according to the needs of different
markets so warmer climates will carry a greater percentage of summer stock, for example), there will be a greater push in south-east Asia this autumn.
Overall, the number of overseas stores is expected to double to 80 but quality control is expected to be exercised very fi rmly from the UK.

“I have just strengthened my international team by bringing in someone from Burberry, and although we work closely with our franchise
partner overseas, it is ultimately our international team that chooses the merchandise, and everything is approved by head office.”

Clearly, the consumers are also demonstrating their approval, particularly when it comes to the Jaeger London Accessories. “That
is predominantly handbags, and eight months ago we introduced shoes,” says Earl. “Accessories is about 15% but it’s on an exponential
growth curve at the moment so could easily go to 20 to 25%. I have a strong accessories background and I think that accessories not only individualise an outfi t but it’s also a way to
introduce a customer to the brand who isn’t perhaps
quite confi dent to try out the apparel as yet.”

Her “strong accessories background” of course is a reference to her appointment as Chief Executive of Debenhams, when
she was the only female CEO of a British high-street chain and was said to be among the youngest appointed at 38.

“We went through a huge process of repositioning Debenhams,” recalls Earl, “and although many have laid claim to it,
you can say that I introduced Designers at Debenhams as I signed the fi rst deal with [celebrity hat designer] Philip Treacy.”

Designers at Debenhams was the diffusion line that a number of high-end designers created specifi cally for the department store, including
Jasper Conran, John Rocha, Maria Grachvogel and Matthew Williamson.

It was the making of Earl and it certainly explains the quiet confi dence she exudes; despite juggling her
commute from Surrey where she raises two young sons by her lawyer husband (“you just get used to it,” she says, airily), but there’s
certainly no resting on laurels.

“Success is as challenging as things that haven’t worked well,” she cautions. “You have to continually fi nd a way
to push things forward. So I continue to reposition the brand.”

And just in case you’re left with the impression that it’s the hard fi gures that the CEO craves, she surprises me while
walking me around the latest collection on the shop fl oor: “After all, what we’re really selling is dreams and desires…”

Jaeger stores in the UK and abroad include Zurich, Copenhagen and Jersey. Visit www.jaeger.co.uk