She admits that many people consider her a workaholic. Yet, suspiciously, Judith Pllkington confesses to a passion for driving – and getting stuck – in London traffic.
‘I love getting in my car every day she gushes. ‘It’s only a short journey but it’s a real pleasure. Travelling to and from work is one of the few times I get to do anything different.’
Different, that is, from mugging up on the latest sales figures for Mappin & Webb, the upmarket jewellery chain she runs, or studying potential targets among top-notch pawnbrokers – she bought a fourth last week for a reputed £1 million. It is the journey itself that absorbs her. More precisely1 the journey in one of the three classic cars that she and her lawyer husband Michael have at home in Hoxton, east London.
The day I met Pilkington at Mappin & Webb’s gorgeously made-over Knightsbridge store, she all but stopped the rush-hour traffic in her Bristol convertible. Nevertheless, it is clear that the slim, glamorous Pilkington does not allow much to get in the way of her work.
Both the brands were tired and dusty
‘I work long hours and people think I’m a workaholic,’ she says. ‘Sadly, I don’t have children and I like to make the best of what I’ve been given.
‘It’s my choice to spend my days surrounded by people and fit the admin and paperwork into the early hours and the evenings. But I wouldn’t want to suggest that you can’t do a senior job without wrecking your social and famliy life.’
Though Pilkington, 50, trained as a lawyer, her career has been in the High Street, starting with department stores Fenwick, Selfridges and Harrods. In 1995 she joined Asprey, the exclusive jewellery firm which then owned Mappin & Webb.
‘Prince Jefri [flamboyant younger brother of the Sultan of Brunei] bought the business in 19%. He injected money, but it was apparent that very little of it was going to find its way into Mappin & Webb,’ she recalls.
‘When I led the management buyout in 1998, there was a mountain to climb. Both businesses [Mappin & Webb and Watches of Switzerland] were neglected. The brands meant "quality" to most consumers, but they were both tired and dusty.’
Backed by venture capitalists European Acquisition Capital, Pilkington and her team are thought to have paid about £40 million for the businesses.
‘The systems were dreadful,’ she says. ‘Staff still wrote everything by hand, so management information and stock control was non-existent.
‘The stockholding was enormous and the company had been sitting on it for years. Unbelievably, only 20 per cent of that stock was selling in the shops.’
Breaking every rule in the posh brands book, Pilkington held one of the grandest sales of all time. She admits: ‘I had no problem telling the staff that they should sImply admit to customers that we were cutting 50 to 75 per cent off the price because we had to shift the stuff.
‘Clearly, we had to cut prices sensitively, but there was no point trying to disguise what we were doing. We had to clear stock if we were to get the money to invest in new jewellery products and more prestigious pieces for Watches of Switzerland as well as improved service.’
Pilkington reckons that process is now more or less complete. The MW Group – the holding company for 20 Mappin & Webb outlets, 13 Watches of Swituerland stores and four pawnbrokers has now moved into profit. Two shops opened last year and the company has just signed up for a prestige site rear the Bank of England.
The next step, however, is likely to be floating the business to provide an exit for MW’s venture capital financiers and bring in new funds for growth.
Pilkington enthuses about the regional opportunities for both major brands in classy shopping malls where outlets can nestle comfortably next to other blue-chip retailers. She also sees huge potential for Mappin & Webb to expand overseas.
This generation has the confidence to spend
Even modest growth in the domestic market is expensive, ‘You’re talking millions of pounds to fit out a shop like this,’ Pilkington says of the Mappin & Webb store in Knightsbridge. ‘If you want to sell a prestige product it has to be in an environment that supports the stock,’ she says. ‘But behind the scenes, we also have watchmakers and jewellers to support. There are huge security issues – we need state-of-the-art surveillance to protect our goods, and staff, too.’
However, she is convinced that social trends are shifting in Mappin & Webb’s favour.
‘In the Eighties, suddealy there was a generation with enormous disposable income,’ she says. ‘Previously, that had been the preserve of the aristocracy who were educated in how to spend. ‘The new generation was less sure, so they tended to buy into labels and the whole Ralph Lauren lifestyle thing because that made them feel secure.
‘Now, though, I think people are more confident and they want to buy for themselves – not to show off. My vision is that people will admire our beautiful pieces for their design and functionality. Then they’ll say, "Mappin & Webb, of course I should have thought of that".’
Judith Pilkington – Life Lines
Favourite jewellery: Thirties Mappin & Webb square diamond set in platinum
Family: Married to Michael for 25 years. He’s fantastic, the biggest support in my life
Home: A house in Hoxton, east London. But about to move to a prestige apartment next to Sadler’s Wells in fashionable Islington
Holidays: Enjoys unusual destinations, such as deserts. Aiming for two weeks in India or Africa this summer
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