Page 4 - RLI November 2019

who’s who in retail

MEETS

Cristina

Scocchia

CEO Of KIKO MIlanO

Q. What are your key objectives over the next 12 months? to use the example of someone who everyone can quickly identify with,
A. at KIKO we will continue to accelerate our current turnaround over and that would be Bill Gates. Someone who’s authenticity is almost
the next year. last year we delivered profit growth of +37 per cent and legendary, also someone who in fact changed the world, in the way we
this year we expect to once again deliver double digit profit growth. We do business, the way we communicate, and spawned dozens of new
will also continue with our eastward expansion in the retail sector, with industries that today make the entire information tech sectors around
more stores being open in markets across the Middle East and asia, as well the world. now, knowing he achieved all he could in business, he directed
as developing new markets via franchises. finally, we are also focusing on his energy to the most ambitious philanthropic effort in world history,
strengthening and growing our e-commerce business, with the opening of with an impact that now counts millions of lives saved.
new market places such as UlTa online in the USa and TMall in China.
Q. What do you make of social media and its prominent rise
Q. Have the economic struggles across the market in recent in importance over the last few years?
years had any impact on the business? A. Social Media plays a key role today as part of our marketing mix, our
A. KIKO has seen slower growth across our more mature markets, omni-channel approach, and to provide a better understanding of our brand
but the overall market dynamics have not changed our growth outlook universe for our consumers. KIKO has made huge strides over the past
with the current expansion strategy. year in social media, and as an example, for Instagram, today we develop
over 90 pieces of high-quality content per month only for this channel, in
Q. What key leadership skills do you feel are the most images or videos, which is a volume of content production we would have
important in the current retail climate? never seen in any industry just a few years ago. This commitment to social
A. Having an entrepreneurial spirit and its co-jointed agility are media will continue to grow, because our consumers live now a part of
probably the most valuable skills in the current business climate. The their lives informing themselves and communicating through social media.
capacity to quickly adapt to a continuously more demanding consumer
is essential for any successful business. I would also say that having Q. What would you consider to be your career highlights?
inspirational leadership more than a directive leadership style is now A. I would say that P&G was where I learned my craft, an institution
more important than ever. all our initiatives are collaborative efforts, with 180 years that has been remarkably good at harnessing all
with many talents coming together to make them happen. that secular knowledge and passing it down through generations of
marketer’s. P&G is a remarkably formative institution, where I spent
Q. As a leader, when making key strategic decisions, what 16 years of my life. Then of course, leading the l’Oreal business in Italy,
proportion of the decision do you feel is fact-based and what transforming the organisation and bringing the business back to growth
proportion is instinctual? in a difficult macro-economic environment. and now, as CEO of KIKO,
A. There is always an element of instinct when it comes to strategic I have before me the responsibility of an entire global organisation, its
decisions. You need to take a broad view to recognise opportunities, to full turnaround and the design for its future.
find meaningful connections that drive the business direction. You need to
start with data and facts but your envisioning skills make the difference. Q. How are you feeling about the 12 months ahead?
A. We are very optimistic about our future, our current business
Q. Can a leader be transformational and authentic, and who plan, shifting strategic choices towards expansion eastwards and
is your favourite example of such a leader? complementing retail with online growth, bringing a consumer centric
A. Being transformational and authentic are actually best paired together, marketing approach, and more focus on brand building, cost control
they don’t exclude each other. Being authentic is an essential part of and operational excellence has proved successful last year, and we are
being able to inspire others to do great things, and any transformational looking at a very good year for 2019. for 2020, we expect to see faster
effort demands that degree of organisational effort. There are many expansion growth in new markets and in particular more franchise
transformational leaders that I find inspiring, many, but perhaps it is best operations across multiple regions.

04 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL nOVEMBER 2019