Retail consultant, journalist and broadcaster, Mary Portas, has made her name changing the way businesses and the people behind them operate, to try and benefit the high street and see things from the point of view of the consumer, as well as working across the globe as an ambassador for best practice in visual merchandising and advising, transforming and improving many businesses into more successful ones.
As her career has been in the thick of a male-dominated world (and sector), as well as having to look after her brother Lawrence from an early age (16) due to the death of her mother, she is currently on a mission, the last of many, to change the world of work for women and all others who feel supressed and unable to express themselves or effectively communicate and do their jobs well or to their full potential, with the launch of her latest book and podcast ‘#WorkLikeAWoman’. What better reason, then, to come to Buxton’s Pavilion Arts Centre for part of her In Conversation tour, as part of Penguin Books Live, interviewed brilliantly (as commended by Mary herself) by BBC Radio Sheffield presenter, Paulette Edwards.
With a plethora of inspirational and witty quotes, as also included in the start of each chapter of the book (and at the end of her podcasts), her passion and drive in the market she fell into is most admirable and infectious - after her father passed on two years after her mother, she was forced to turn down a place at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), which was her dream at the time. Matched by her no-nonsense and to the point (but helpfully) attitude picks you up and wants you to share the determination to succeed and change the world and way businesses operate, often from the top down.
“Being with someone who allows you to be yourself is when you are at your best” she explains. Her campaign is not anti-men but gives insight into “how to be humane”, stating that the statistics of women getting to the top is poor. “When I was younger I thought that doctors, my father, the priest and others had power. When my mother passed away, my father fell apart. We have to reverse thousands of years of this.”
Asked what, as well as the skills she developed looking after her brother, skills and secret she had to her success, which led her to work for the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols, she responded “I had talent, I think.” She also attributed instinct to her role at Harrods.
When she was appointed to the board as creative director of Harvey Nicks, at a time when they were panicking about how to compete with the lack of British fashion innovation, compared to Europe and America, she suggested that they give the top fashion colleges free space in the store for 6 months. This contributed to the success of Dolce And Cabana, and the store also added a bar. When she was told of Jennifer Saunders’ concept for AbFab (Absolutely Fabulous), she jumped on the opportunity and was responsible for the iconic use of the brand as a catchphrase by Joanna Lumley.
A proud and openly gay woman, she had 2 children with former husband Graham, and then married Melanie Rickey in 2014 who already had a son, Horatio and had to take a month out of work. During this time, she studied various philosophers and realised that she “had got the world wrong”.
In Chapter 19 of her new book, she references the decades we find ourselves in and how to adapt.
There were then questions from the audience:
1. Kinky Knickers - She acquired a derelict factory and employed 8 youngsters who were on the dole to work there. There are now 32 of them.
2. Favourite current feminists: Gloria Steinam: “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, but you think it’s a pig; it’s a pig.”
3. How to tackle menopause in the workplace: “We have to be open and create safe spaces. Needs to go on cultural agenda.”
4. Dealing with mental health and other problems: “Workplaces should be open to making employees feel comfortable. When you allow freedom of thoughts and diversity, you unlock potential and talent. Don't make people conform. Kindness..”
“The secret to a successful high street doesn't come from retail. It comes from the creation of social capital - local shops and meeting spaces where people will come and council will give discounts whilst they regenerate.” She also made comment of Ministers telling her to ask the people who make money..the big boys..for advice on how to save the high streets. “They look for short term fixes.”
Even if you aren’t a fan of her tv shows or way of working, seeing her in person and hearing of her inspiration and career is well worth the ticket price.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 24/5/19
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