Boots head of gift transformation and strategic brand partnerships, Jenna Whittingham-Ward explains how the UK’s largest health and beauty retailer is going big on beauty this Christmas.
Whittingham-Ward has worked at Boots for 20 years in various roles including managing the future beauty reinvention programme, and looking after Boots’ own-brand label. In her latest gifting-focused role, she explains how the retailer is making sure it maximises beauty sales in the run-up to Christmas and what’s in store for its biggest-ever Black Friday yet.
What has changed at Boots when it comes to the beauty category as compared to five years ago?
“In 2019, we started the beauty reinvention programme, we call it, which was looking at our beauty business and how we set it up for the future. So one of the things we had, if you remember Boots, maybe 10 years ago, was a lot of big beauty counters. We looked to really update our furniture, to change that model, so that beauty became a little bit less behind-the-counter selling and more interactive and much more modern, where people could test and play with the products.
“And as part of that program, we started to launch some new brands. So Fenty Beauty was one of the first ones we brought into Boots as well as Mac. And then throughout that period, from around 2019 to now, we’ve rolled out the beauty reinvention scheme to 180 Boots stores.
“And as we roll it out, we launch more and more new brands as we go. So in the last year, we’ve launched 55 new brands. So the pace of new brands coming in has definitely increased.
“I think Boots is so uniquely placed that we have everything from £1 to £500 on beauty. We see that kind of cross-brand, cross price point as a key part of the Boots offer and how customers enjoy shopping in Boots.”
What should we look out for from Boots this Christmas?
“We’re betting, in a big way, on beauty. This is the biggest beauty Christmas we’ve ever had. I think for us, beauty gifts feel really personal. We’re going big on beauty across all price points. We’ve got skincare gifts and brands like Bubble and Byoma, which we know are trending. Especially for teens, we know that they’re on everyone’s gift list, and they’re actually flying out.
“We’ve got really limited buys, so they’re kind of the hottest brands on social media, and when they’re gone, they’re gone, and they’re online only.
“Black Friday has become a really big part of the golden quarter now. So people see it as part of that Christmas journey that they can buy some gifts there. And I think the way it falls this year is critical. It falls on payday for a lot of people. So for us, it’s our biggest-ever Black Friday. But we’re expecting it to be huge across the market because of the phasing of it with people being paid.
“We’ve hired 8,000 more people for Christmas. 5,000 of them are in stores and we’ve got a lot more people in the warehouse helping to pack orders, because online is now so big for us. We’ve invested in 50 collaborative robots called “co-bots” that help picking in the warehouse become more efficient. I think the scale at which we’re setting ourselves up for this peak is really big.”
Do you think the recent budget will have an impact on sales and how people spend this Christmas?
“I think it’s a bit tricky to tell. For the last few years, we’ve definitely seen a really big trend in people gifting more carefully. So for example, half of our range is under £10. 80% of our range is under £20. So I think those trends for us continue regardless. People want great value for really great gifts for people they care about.
“In our core range, we work hard to keep Christmas as affordable for everyone as we can. We want everyone to enjoy shopping and feel like there are gifts for them to give to their loved ones in Boots.”
What are your thoughts on high-street giants like John Lewis and M&S expanding their share in the beauty market?
“I think it’s good for us, honestly. Beauty is having a real moment. And I think it’s an encouragement to get people out into stores and test beauty, explore beauty, and have fun with it. It’s one of those categories that is truly for everyone, no matter how much you want to spend, who you are, what your skin tone is, or your hair type. There’s an amazing beauty experience for all of you.
“So it’s great to see people coming out with these new stores and encouraging beauty shopping back on the high street. It’s really for everyone’s benefit that it happens and keeps us on our toes and that’s good for us.”
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