McArthurGlen is in a good groove. In a challenging economic environment with discretionary spending squeezed, the designer outlet group still grew sales across its portfolio by 7% last year to a record high. That followed 14% growth in the preceding year. And this trend is set to continue in 2025, with footfall and sales up year-on-year.
The secret of its success? Offering designer-branded products at hefty discounts of up to 70% and providing best-in-class customer experiences. As the companyâs Chief People Officer, EstelleâŻHollingsworth puts it: âWe donât want our customers to think of us as just a luxury retail outlet. Rather, we want them to think of us as a great day out. Weâve built customer loyalty by offering great value alongside an unmatched experience in the moments that matter, whether thatâs the incredible entertainment and events we host at our outlets, our fantastic brand mixes, or exceptional service at point of sale.â
Having learned a lot about customer loyalty, the business is deploying the same approach with its employees. It intends to focus its efforts on improving employee experiences during the âmoments that matter.â These include a new recruitâs first day, leaving for (and returning from) parental leave, and, of course, promotions, bereavement, illness, and retirement.
âWe want to support each of these moments in an extraordinary way, building an emotional connection between the employee and the group, so that colleagues realize we see and value them,â says Hollingsworth.
Itâs all about finding these moments, just like we do with customers, that genuinely create a sense of belonging, value, personalization and loyalty.
The business invests significant energy in employee onboarding. The evening before their first day, new starters receive personal letters of welcome from senior management and are invited to a welcome dinner. Regardless of where they will work within the business, as part of the official onboarding, everyone also gets to experience one of the retail outlet centers as a customer.
The consideration that companies afford women, in terms of maternity leave, and the periods before and after it, can cement or dissolve loyalty. On top of the company maternity leave and âkeep-in-touchâ days, McArthurGlen also offers parental coaching to ensure a successful return to work that allows the person to adjust to their new life as a parent and find confidence in balancing work and life priorities.
âItâs all about finding these moments, just like we do with customers, that genuinely create a sense of belonging, value, personalization, and loyalty,â adds Hollingsworth.
In recent years, McArthurGlen has ramped up its investment in employee well-being and has restructured its People team to identify and prioritize other areas for improvement. An unusual and valued benefit is a ÂŁ500 well-being allowance that every employee can use to support a healthy lifestyle.
âThe top three things our colleagues spend this benefit on are fitness classes and gym memberships, spa sessions and massages, and home gym equipment,â explains Hollingsworth. âThe point is that our people can choose what they do for themselves and their families. It is an exceptional benefit. People really love this.â
The business also promotes employee care through its network of well-being ambassadors. âItâs so much more impactful if a peer checks on somebody rather than a manager,â says Hollingsworth. âWeâve trained well-being ambassadors across the company to support others in many different ways. It could be helping someone with finding mental health support tools or assisting a neurodiverse employee in navigating the workplace.â
âA lot of the time, we get distracted by doing things that feel good but donât bring enough value to our guests, colleagues or the business.â
With the CHRO agenda growing exponentially, it has become crucial to be laser-focused on those initiatives that align most closely with commercial and strategic priorities.
âThe profession needs to get better at focusing on what matters most,â says Hollingsworth. âA lot of the time, we get distracted by doing things that feel good but donât bring enough value to our guests, colleagues, or the business.â
Hollingsworth believes that itâs vital for HR leaders to demonstrate to the CEO and executive team the commercial value of every initiative they undertake. âTheyâre naturally interested in how our people feel, but what theyâre looking for is a clear connection between engagement initiatives and business outcomes,â she adds. âItâs not just about knowing that loyalty and low churn are valuable â senior leaders already understand that. What matters is showing how specific actions will drive greater engagement and why that leads to tangible commercial impact.â
Early data looks promising. In a recent survey, when asked whether they would recommend McArthurGlen as a place to work, 87% of employees said yes, up four percentage points on the preceding year. According to Willis Towers Watson, whose engagement surveys McArthurGlen use, the âhigh-performanceâ norm is 84%. Employee survey indicators for engagement, inclusion, and well-being are also trending upward.
That raw experience gave me a real understanding of the operational challenges businesses face. Having operational and commercial acumen gives CHROs an edge when building credibility with the C-suite.
Hollingsworth is a relative newcomer to the retail sector. After 13 years at AirâŻProducts and Chemicals and a three-year stint as HR Director at BAE Systems, she held various leadership positions in operations and HR during a six-and-a-half-year career with Virgin Atlantic, before joining McArthurGlen in September 2024.
But these diverse experiences have helped shape her approach. The focus on employee âmoments that matterâ was inspired by a similar strategy at Virgin Atlantic. And her hard-nosed insistence on understanding and proving commercial value was cemented when working in an operational role at the airline.
âI was previously VP of cabin crew and cabin operations at Virgin Atlantic, and unfortunately, one of the most challenging requirements was to lead the redundancies across the 4,000-strong cabin crew when COVID-19 hit,â explains Hollingsworth.
âThat raw experience gave me a real understanding of the operational challenges businesses face. Having operational and commercial acumen gives CHROs an edge when building credibility with theâŻC-suite.â
Hollingsworth is now driving an initiative that encourages employees to widen their professional experience in a similar way. McArthurGlen offers its workforce opportunities to work in different functional and operational roles, building the skillsets to become future leaders.
As she implements new policies and ways of working, Hollingsworth also draws on personal experience. Her professional focus on DE&I and well-being is partly driven by her experience as a working mum of three children.
âA former employer gave me the time and space to work flexibly and initially return part-time. It was a lifeline.â
Offering employees the best possible experience during key moments will not always win them for the whole of their working lives. But it will certainly give them a different perspective on McArthurGlen as a caring and thoughtful employer and make them think long and hard about any decision to leave.
In a sector such as retail, this goodwill ripples through from employer to employee to customer. Hollingsworthâs experience tells her that this makes sense both for her people and for the business.
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