Our Jewellery is Your Story
Do you remember when everything seemed to be crashing around us during the Great Recession of 2008? It did for some people, but not for everyone. One of my favourite high-jewelry designers, Astley Clarke, sprang to prominence at this period in British history like a phoenix. Founded by MBE Bec Astley Clarke, who had the brilliant vision that women ought to be able to wear exquisite jewellery every day rather than only on special occasions, a notion with which I wholeheartedly agree.
I adore Astley Clarke because they have the ideal fusion of design, elegance, and the wow factor. Because Astley Clarke is a true British company, it has attracted some of the most well-known and influential women in the world, including Sienna Miller, Cara Delevingne, Cameron Diaz, Lupita Nyong’o, and Alexa Chung. When an actor or actress wears one of your pieces on the red carpet, it is thrilling and fulfilling for any jeweller.
With all this success I had a chat with Scott Thomson, CEO of Astley Clarke, to learn more about what makes Astley Clarke so successful.
Before I asked Scott a few personal questions, I had to know how the company has evolved over the years. “Astley Clarke was the brainchild of Bec Astley Clarke, an online marketplace for demi-fine jewellery before demi-fine jewellery was a thing. Backed by Index Ventures, Carman Busquets and Venrex, it had an enviable line up of investors despite launching in the shadow of the 2008 meltdown. It was clear by 2013 that to compete with NAP, Yoox, Farfetch and other marketplaces moving into the jewellery space it was going to need even deeper pockets.” Replied Scott.
Scott continued, “I joined in 2013, having just spent a year as the CEO for Claudia Schiffer, developing licenses for her to create luxury product lines, and was eager to return to a hands-on role evolving a brand. We pivoted away from a marketplace and focussed on developing a line of relaxed, luxury, easy to wear Astley Clarke pieces. We have an industry leading website, a store in seven dials, London, and counters in some of the best department stores in London”.
Scott’s journey was no different from that of any other great company leader; he began his journey early and worked from the ground up. “The graduate scheme at M&S was incredible retail training, then leading a large supplier commercially built my knowledge of global sourcing. That led nicely to helping build a large successful shoe brand. I realised I needed to be number one and that lead me to invest in Astley Clarke.”
But he is not the man he is now merely because of his professional background. Many successful CEOs credit their younger years for shaping who they are as adults; “I went to a very strict boarding school in Germany whilst we were living in Belgium, and I reacted well to the structure. Returning to the UK I ended up in a fairly poor, comprehensive, and then just free-wheeled for a while. I got to read Chemistry at university and by then I realised I needed to work at it, just at the time everyone around me was discovering the party scene that I was bored of!” remarked Scott.
Even as a child, Scott had previously lived in a number of different countries, which helped him develop a perspective of the world around him; Scott said; “My father was an engineer in the Royal Air Force, so I was born in Germany and lived in 4 countries by the time I was 12. The houses on Army camps are small but always in lots of space, so we spent all the time outside.” Scott went on; “My father was a real inspiration, after leaving the RAF at 40 he joined Intel on a graduate scheme in technical sales. Within 10 years he was the GM of EMEA based in Istanbul and leading a large and varied team.”
Like many of you, I occasionally consider what my childhood friends might think of the position I have today. I questioned Scott about what he believed his childhood friends would say; “I guess they would say “well deserved” I have worked consistently hard in a small number of roles for 30 years.”
Given the variety of experiences Scott has had during his professional career, I asked him about his most proud professional achievement. “I joined Marcia Kilgore at FitFlop as employee number 2 and from my garage in Fulham we started delivering our sandals to the Kings Road Sporting Club. Within a short 3 years the business was selling over $100m of sandals and stocked in all the world’s best department stores and we did it without a penny of investment or debt.” Answered Scott. You never forget the many skills you learn when building a company from scratch. While I’ve been there, I occasionally wonder if I have experienced actual success—the “Have I made it?” moment. Scott added his thoughts, “not sure I have reached that yet – getting a call from Berkshire Hathaway to attempt to buy the footwear brand was a high spot.”
It’s also important to keep in mind that over the last several years, there has been a global epidemic that has had an impact on businesses across all sectors. I know that a good number of businesses in the luxury industry temporarily suspended trading (we were one of those).
I questioned how Scott navigated the brand during the several lockdowns when so many companies had to modify and adapt to the crises. “Like many mostly online brands we enjoyed a strong trading period during the various lockdowns. We developed a hero item which was a fully customisable locket that you could download images from your phone, and we would insert into the locket and also engrave. They remain a huge seller and gifting something with meaning is the new normal.” Said Scott. Yet I am sure he still has challenges ahead; “Where do you start? Access to talent, headwinds on currency, digital marketing going off the boil, ancillary costs all rocketing.” Added Scott.
But like any business leader, part of what makes them successful is the team around him and how they manage them; “Lead from the middle. I am very collaborative but also recognise to trust my instincts, trust in the team dynamic but not being slow to weed out under performers.”
In addition, as the CEO of a growing business, he is also in charge of developing talent. “I like to give autonomy to my key team members, allow them to develop professionally and support their vision for their department.” Scott added that some of the best advice he got was from Marcia. “Marcia used a great line: “search all the parks in all the cities; there are no statues of committees,” so if I am not convinced by the group idea, I am not afraid to trust my instincts.”
And it appears that there is not much that keeps him up at night; “I sleep really well; the brand is in good hands, and we are growing steadily rather than trying to blow the doors off. Relaxed luxury brands are timeless and so we can make sure we do it right.” It might also be because Scott likes a variety of sports to unwind, adding that; “Sport is my relaxation: golf, tennis, running and cycling – and I play 5 a side once a week – hence I sleep well.”
If there were a premium brand that inspires him, who would it be, given how competitive the luxury market is? “In the accessory space I have always had a soft spot for Mont Blanc. I have some of their pens and leather goods and fragrance and it is all really well made and conceived, they have been consistent and whilst perhaps not perceived as a hot brand they deliver on every level with their product.”
And with my time coming to an end, Scott concluded by sharing his advice for any entrepreneur or CEO looking to upend the sector in which their company competes to “Trust your instinct, go for it and if it isn’t working fail fast and move on.”
Discover more: astleyclarke.com