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Anne Ledgerwood started her career with a degree in business studies. Now she is General Manager of the St Enoch Centre and Chair of Glasgow City Centre Retail Association. She’s been talking to s1jobs about her route to the top.
How did you get your foot in the door?
My first taste of retail, apart from working in a bike shop while I was at college, was when I was appointed Marketing Manager at Braehead at the time it opened. I’d come from the public sector but through working at Braehead I became fascinated by the whole retail environment.
Did you keep working in retail?
Not directly. While my children were small I took four years off, during which time I launched my own consultancy and completed an MBA and it was then the St Enoch Centre became one of my clients. Eventually I moved over to working full time as Marketing Director.
How did you make the move from the marketing department to centre management?
At Braehead I was always involved in the management issues and because of my business background that seemed quite natural. But when I arrived at the St Enoch Centre there was still a lot that I had to learn about the technical services side of the job.
What does the job involve?
One of the best things about it is the variety. One moment I can be involved in strategic planning and the next I’m talking to a customer in the mall, dealing with a short-term situation.
The St Enoch Centre is like a mini-town. It is a 12-acre site that’s home to 90 stores employing 2000 staff and on a normal Saturday 70,000 people will pass through its doors.
The retail sector is facing many challenges. How has the St Enoch Centre tackled these?
Shopping used to be convenience-based but now it is a leisure pursuit and people are social creatures who like coming into Glasgow to shop. So one of the ways we stay relevant is by encouraging people to spend more time in the city centre. At the St Enoch Centre the former BHS store is being transformed into a Vue cinema.
Can today’s new recruits still carve out a rewarding career in retail?
Retail isn’t just about standing behind a till, although that’s a great place to start. It’s a business where you can start young and move up through the ranks. There’s even more to it than that: you can be a plumber in retail, or an accountant, or a marketing director. It’s all about having transferable skills.
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