‘I’m just getting going,” says Jo Jenkins, the 55-year-old boss of casual clothing brand White Stuff. Founded by two ski bums selling T-shirts door-to-door in the Alps, it has grown up with its customers and is now a supplier of floral tunics, utility jackets and other everyday staples to mums and dads.
Jenkins, a polished retail industry veteran, was poached from Marks & Spencer in 2017 to help get White Stuff back on piste. Known for its colourful prints and comfy fits, the retailer had slumped to a loss amid the rise of online shopping and some fashion faux pas.
Since joining, she has steered the company through some big storms. It survived the pandemic, while rivals Joules, FatFace and Cath Kidston faced financial difficulties, and returned to profitability in 2022, becoming a hit with Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next shoppers. All three high street giants have adopted a department store model online, with websites selling their own and other brands, and White Stuff is in each of their virtual storefronts.
On the bricks-and-mortar high street, it has 114 shops and 46 concessions in the UK and 28 shops and concessions in Germany as well as 575 wholesale stockists worldwide.
There have been rumours that founders George Treves and Sean Thomas are considering selling up as the brand expands.
There are plans for up to 30 more standalone stores over five years, while the number of M&S outlets in which the brand is sold is doubling to 20. Jenkins also wants to expand the accessories, footwear and men’s ranges.
The deal with M&S brings Jenkins full circle back to the company where she started as a “Saturday girl”, and then a management trainee straight from A-levels, before returning many years later, after a long stint at Next, to become beauty and clothing director.
By teaming up with bigger names, White Stuff believes it has found a way to connect with its core fiftysomething customer. It’s a demographic that is underserved by retailers, despite being one of the few spending more on fashion in these straitened times.
Jenkins says the market is ripe for new ideas, as what are now referred to as “mid-lifers” are reassessing where to shop after the closure of so many of the department stores they would have turned to in the past. That generation are also becoming more engaged and savvy about social media, looking at TikTok and Instagram as well as old favourites such as Facebook for ideas.
“By the age of 50, I think people are more confident in what they are happy to wear and know what they’re looking for. Our unique, more independent point of view on style appeals to that customer who is just looking for something a bit different and not wanting to follow the pack, the usual fashion trends, and be a slave to what we read and see, and every other image,” says Jenkins.
“These are women and men that still want to express themselves through style, still have a desire to spend money and enjoy clothing. And I think this is a great opportunity. It is the best part of the clothing sector in a tough market.”
As a stylish and savvy mid-lifer herself, Jenkins embodies the customer she is trying to serve. “What’s 50 today? It’s nothing, is it? I feel like I am just getting going and embracing the next chapter in my life.”
While the UK fashion industry has suffered a difficult period, with a warm autumn and then a chilly wet spring, White Stuff has continued to grow, benefiting from improvements in style, new routes to market and steady income from good-quality basics such as chinos and cardigans, which are less dependent on the seasons.
The brand, which employs more than 1,200 people, increased sales by 13% to £151m in the year to April 2023, although pre-tax profits fell last year to £47,000 from £8.3m the year before as costs rose. This year, the group is expecting growth in full-price sales and profit. Sales in April were up 12% on last year.
It has already travelled a long way from its roots. Founded in 1985 by catering student Treves and his friend Thomas, a tour operator and handyman, the pair first sold their “Boys from the White Stuff” T-shirts out of a suitcase in upmarket resorts such as Méribel and Val d’Isère to pay for their skiing habit.
They opened their first store in Clapham, south London, in 1991 and launched a catalogue. They continued to design product themselves until the early 00s, before hiring a professional manager, Sally Bailey, from Miss Selfridge. Bailey developed the brand to appeal to a more urban audience and shifted into womenswear to embrace a fast-growing market.
These days, Jenkins believes White Stuff is doing well because it has stuck to the standards its shoppers expect. “We’ve never lost sight of the detail and the quality, and I think it’s that that has kept us just slightly ahead of the game,” she says.
Sales of the group’s colourful dresses are up by a quarter, while its “quirky” knitwear – think hot pink bobble jumpers – is also enjoying a moment. “It’s not an easy backdrop, for sure, and I do feel like you have to work very hard for every pound.” Jenkins says.
“But our product has just hit it right. We’re having a good time.”
CV
Age 55
Family Married to Karl with three children: George, 21, Frannie, 19, and Lizzie, 15.
Education St David’s high school in Clwyd, studied to A-levels before joining the M&S management training programme.
Last holiday Skiing in Cervinia, Italy, with family (“Amazing weather and tons of snow!”).
Biggest regret “No big regrets except I became a CEO at 50 and I love it ... why didn’t I do it sooner?”
Phrase she overuses “‘If anyone can, you can’ (I care about empowering people), or ‘I’ve got restless discontent’ (I am always looking to try harder and be better).”
How she relaxes “I head to the shops! I love nothing more than mooching around looking at product. Or watching TV – probably The Bear or a good crime drama.”
Best advice she’s been given “Surround yourself with inspiring and ambitious people. Assembling a talented team quickly to tackle the challenge ahead is the most important move you’ll make.”
