Believing fashion is temporary but style is permanent, John Robinson Founded Jigsaw with the opening of the first store in Hampstead in 1970 to sell stylish clothes in inspiring surroundings, at affordable prices. Here, RLI sits down with CEO Beth Butterwick to discuss how the brand has evolved throughout the pandemic and why this restructuring will set the company up for future success.
Built on the principle of beautiful quality at affordable prices, 52 years later the company today remains true to its roots in terms of hosting an amazing platform and remaining focused on delivering excellent customer service.
While Covid-19 had a profound impact on the business, it did offer a unique opportunity to take a step back and re-evaluate and re-model the company. So they retreated out of international markets and the menswear and childrenswear sectors and the team agreed to strip back the business to focus on what Jigsaw is renowned for and that is to be the leading upmarket, high-street clothing brand appealing to a sizeable ABC1 female demographic across the UK.
“We also utilised the time to invest and develop our digital proposition and even today post-Covid this represents almost 50 per cent of the business,” explains Beth Butterwick, CEO of Jigsaw. “We have focused on once again being the best in our home market and then building out on an international scale from there, and this is a key part of our current three-year strategic road map.”
Jigsaw currently operates 42 boutiques, however this is a number that is ever-changing and Butterwick believes there are around a further 10 sites that have been identified that are of interest, as they look towards a portfolio of around 45-50 sites in the near future.
The portfolio has seen a number of relocations and new additions in recent times and all of the boutiques are inspiring spaces that connect customers to the brand, its people and the local communities.
They have invested in some beautiful new locations, relocating in Kings Road, Bath, Winchester Leeds and Beverley, whilst refreshing sites in Guildford, Battersea, Marlborough and Kensington and their only outlet at Cheshire Oaks which opened just a few weeks ago.
Internationally, Jigsaw work with Arnotts through a store in Dublin and they are also international through Next. But looking forward, the brand would like to once again be in markets it was previously, such as the US, Northern Europe and Australia. Additional markets that interest the company are areas like the Nordics, parts of Asia and the Middle East but this is further down the path once they have built a solid footprint of international boutiques.
The aforementioned three-year plan for Jigsaw has four pillars to it that focus on product, digital, stores and international presence. “The pandemic placed us in unprecedented times and many companies, including ourselves were fighting for survival. But what it also did was allow us to step back and think about where we were and where we wanted to be, and we used the crisis opportunity to change, fix things and evolve the business, putting the building blocks in place to then go ahead and execute this three-year plan and grow the company,” Butterwick highlights.
When discussing social media, Beth explains that all social media interactions, regardless of whether it is paid social or organic social, gives brands a fantastic platform in which to talk to the world, your customers and that you can empower them to be a part of Jigsaw. She goes on to say that it is all about connections and that the role of social media is very important in terms of how you communicate to people and because it allows their customers to talk about the brand and build brand communities.
“Sustainability is another aspect that I think is pivotally important and I believe transparency and conducting operations with integrity is key,” Butterwick says.
On a day-to-day basis Jigsaw operates with sustainability mind in the way they procure their product, the way they source fabrics, the way that manufacturers dispose of water and how all their factories work to industry standards.
“It is a moving topic for all of us really and sustainability is very much one of our key levers and a principle when we’re considering any new business, new products, new boutiques, logistics or operations.”
Despite already being a 50-year old name, the last couple of years have given Jigsaw a chance to once again remind people what the brand stands for and why it stands out from the competition. It is a concept that has never veered away from quality, from craftsmanship and from bringing architectural, artisan and artistic elements into everything they do.
“We offer style and quality, we don’t offer fashion and the truth is that we will always be open and transparent with our customers about our quality or the way we procure items,” explains Beth.
With their fantastic strategy implemented, the coming years will all be about the execution and the acceleration of what has been put in place in recent months.
“While there may be significant headwinds to come, if we can just execute our three-year business plan, it is a fantastic opportunity for Jigsaw to take the market by storm and be a global brand once again,” concludes Butterwick.
