Page 4 - 171

who’s who in retail

RLI MEETS

Jan Bøgh

PRESIDENT & CEO OF JYSK

Q. Given the changing market conditions throughout the Q. What do you make of social media’s prominent rise in
Covid-19 pandemic, have you had to alter or re-evaluate your importance over the last few years, and how important do
key objectives moving forward? you feel e-commerce and online activities will continue to be?
Overall our performance during the coronavirus pandemic and the E-commerce is an important sales channel for JYSK, and I have no
restrictions that followed has proven that JYSK has a strong business doubt that this will also be the case in the future. However in JYSK we
model and a good mix between a centralised organisation and strong have always said that we do not have any goal about the split between
local management teams. That said, we have of course learned from online sales and sales from physical stores. JYSK should always provide
the coronavirus pandemic, and how customers and employees reacted a great offer and the best platform whether it is online or offline. Then
and we will of course use these learnings to make JYSK even stronger the customers can decide where and how they want to buy. However
moving forward. we are investing a lot of money in making the customer journey more
seamless and making it more smooth to have a customer journey which
Q. How would you say the Covid-19 outbreak affected your includes both online steps and a visit to a physical store.
business, and will it have any long-term effects on your plans
moving forward? Q. What would you consider to be your career highlights?
Looking at online sales this has taken a huge leap, and I have no doubt My career highlight was being appointed President and CEO of JYSK
that it has “forced” some customers to buy online, even though they in 2000 and getting the overall responsibility of this great company.
might prefer the physical store. I am sure that a lot of those customers Another highlight would be the merge of what was formerly known
will also be willing to buy online in the future. However we have also as JYSK Nordic and Dänisches Bettenlager. The entities were merged
seen customers returning to physical stores as soon as it was possible, as of 1 September 2019, and it has been extremely rewarding to be
so I would say that we have become better at utilising both physical responsible for that process. We still have some way to go, especially in
stores and online in the right way. regards to IT, but I am really happy with the result so far. Not least with
the attitude from all of the employees.
Q. What key leadership skills do you feel are the most
important in the current retail climate? Q. How are you feeling about the 12 months ahead?
It is probably more important than ever to set a direction and stick to There are of course a lot of uncertainties right now. Not just in regards
it. When the world is changing rapidly, I believe that it is important for all to inflation, energy prices and freight rates, but also on a geopolitical
employees that they know in which direction we are heading and why. level. Furthermore we have a huge task of embracing circular economy
In JYSK we have a strong business model and a strategy that we believe and become more sustainable. That said JYSK is a strong company with
in, and it is important that all employees know that. a strategy that takes these issues into account, so I am sure we will
continue to create great results.
Q. As a leader, when making key strategic decisions, what
proportion of the decision do you feel is fact-based and what Q. Do you have any words of warning for the industry as we
proportion is instinctual? continue to move through unchartered territory?
Having been CEO for more than 20 years it can sometimes be hard Stick with what you believe in. That is my best advice. If the world
to distinguish, because a lot of decisions are taken from a mix of my around you changes a lot, you have to be clear about who you are, and
experience and knowledge, and from what I believe is the right decision. what you want to do.
Overall I would say that you need to find as many facts as possible and
be very well prepared. But when all that is done, being a leader is also
about taking decisions when you do not know the exact outcome. In
that regard I trust my instinct, and I would never take a decision that I
do not feel good about.

Q. Do you feel that CEOs and company leaders can continue
to be transformational in the new retail landscape and will
this actually be more important than ever now?
It is important to be able to adapt and make changes as the retail
landscape changes, but I do not think this is something new. Of course
the development in regards to technology is much faster now than it was
20 years ago, but being a retailer has always been about having the ability
to change in order to fulfil the requirements of our customers.

04 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2022