Page 4 - May2021

who’s who in retail

MEETS

Paul Barham

Founder & Cdo - red engine

Q. Given the current market conditions, have you had to alter Q. What do you make of social media and its prominent rise in
or re-evaluate your key objectives over the coming 12 months? importance over the last few years, and how important do you
A. As a business we have always periodically reviewed key objectives feel e-commerce and online activities will continue to be?
to ensure we remain relevant and agile, even more so in a period of A. Social media is an integral part of our marketing strategy. Not only is it a
uncertainty. With the roadmap in place and dates to countdown we route to finding new customers, but it is the most powerful word of mouth
have been able to discuss and set-out our key objectives for the next 12 tool we have. Social media allows people to ‘show off’ their experiences,
months with our priority being our people, product and consequently our turning your customers into brand ambassadors, significantly elevating
customers and what they want. your reach. If we didn’t offer such a great experience and create beautiful
venues, customers quite simply wouldn’t post about us.
Q. How would you say the Covid-19 outbreak has affected your
business in the past year, and will it have any effect on your Q. What would you consider to be your career highlights?
plans moving forward? A. It all started in London’s Shoreditch in October 2015, so this was an
A. Looking back I’m incredibly proud of the Red Engine team as everyone incredibly exciting time for us. We spent two years developing our product,
rallied together and demonstrated incredible kindness, talent and leadership to see this come to life and be blown away by the response was an
to collectively navigate our way through the uncertainty. The resilience, incredibly proud moment. Our first franchise site launched in May 2018
determination, and care that’s been shown for others has been incredible in Chicago and to go stateside as such a new business far exceeded our
to see, and I think we’ve all learnt a lot and are closer for it. expectations. We’re constantly striving for more, whether that’s reviewing
our existing offering, refreshing venues, our launching new ones, and we
Q. What key leadership skills do you feel are the most important took this a step further by developing and launching our second concept
in the current retail climate? Electric Shuffle in November 2019.
A. Transparency, honesty, consistency, good communications and not making
knee jerk reactions are key to good leadership. This has been an uncertain Q. How are you feeling about the 12 months ahead?
time for everyone, so being clear on goals that are well thought out and A. We plan to bring our experience to even more people. In June we’ll
shared with the team to focus on has allowed us to remain positive when finally open the doors to Flight Club Leeds (which we were due to launch
looking ahead, despite what at times have been very choppy seas. in Summer 2020), and we have five more venues coming before the close
of 2021, two in the UK, two in the USA and one in Australia. We’re also
Q. As a leader, when making key strategic decisions, what extending our fizz hours, launching brunch on Thursdays and Fridays and
proportion of the decision do you feel is fact-based and what both Flight Club and Electric Shuffle will see the introduction of epic new
proportion is instinctual? games.
A. I believe it’s a mix of both. Before making a key decision we equip
ourselves with as much information as possible, we over prepare. Since the Q. Do you have any words of warning for the industry as we
first idea for Flight Club came to us, Steve and I have been passionate about head into unchartered territory?
surrounding ourselves with experts, by that I mean having no issue with A. I feel hopeful about the future. It feels good to have more certainty
being the ‘stupid’ person in the room. Building strong networks of people for our industry, and of course we hope that when we do reopen our
who will share their insights is always useful. So, I’d say we start with facts, doors, it’ll be for the last time. Time will tell, but I’m confident that venues
insights and data, and then we balance this against our gut instinct. If the committed to giving their guests a unique and memorable experience will
two align, then you’re onto something. succeed. I personally can’t wait to see every pub, bar and restaurant back
open and doing what we all do best, bringing joy.
Q. Do you feel that a leader can be transformational whilst
remaining authentic, and how important do you feel this is? Q. Any final thoughts or anything else you would like to add?
A. In short, yes. Authenticity is crucial. If you’re not true to yourself and the A. I am delighted to announce that we have partnered with the outstanding
values of your brand then you’ll lose your way and integrity. If you don’t Loyola Group to bring Flight Club Darts to Ireland, opening in Dublin in
have your values at heart when considering change or being innovative, 2022. This follows the amazing success and growth of our USA partnership
then you’re implementing changes for the wrong reasons. Our values as with two venues in Chicago and Boston and a third, Houston opening
a company run through every decision we make and we regularly sense later this year, as well as the recently announced Australian partnership,
check ourselves against this. launching in Perth later this year. Our national and international success and
growth is driven by a proven value and investment proposition and made
possible by our and our partners’ people, the Red Engine Family.

04 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL MAY 2021