Desert Island Stores: Manju Malhotra
In this latest Desert Island Stores interview, Glynn Davis speaks with Manju Malhotra, former chief executive of Harvey Nichols.
The store you remember from childhood?
I often say that my retail career started at aged seven. My parents owned a fashion wholesaling store in Brick Lane, in the East End of London, and I spent my school holidays and weekends helping out. This was a time preceding the fast fashion stores of today, and we sold denim and casualwear for Women, Men & Kids. All of our suppliers were UK-based, and during the holidays I would accompany my dad on buying trips visiting the factories in Leicester and Birmingham and seeing products being manufactured. It meant that I understood what was ‘cool’ from a young age and was often one of the early adopters in my friend group, of trends such as ra-ra skirts and leg-warmers.
Most inspirational store to your career?
It has to be Harvey Nichols, where I spent 25 years of my executive career including four years as CEO. Harvey Nichols has innovation in its DNA, with a long-standing reputation for discovering new and emerging fashion & beauty brands from across the globe. Harvey Nichols was pivotal in leading the way and setting the high standards in department store retailing, which we take for granted today with beauty services and hospitality integral to the customer experience, as well as show-stopping windows.
Subscribe to TRBDuring my time, Harvey Nichols expanded its store footprint to 15 locations; it was the first major retailer to open outside of London, with its store in Leeds in the late 1990’s, as well as internationally in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the year 2000, recognising the potential of the growing high net worth and aspirational customer groups across the different regions.
We always described Harvey Nichols as a large boutique, its size being an advantage as it was easier for customers to navigate the different floors, and meander in between brands with natural daylight sweeping in, unlike the shop-in-shop layouts of some larger department stores. Customer service is an important differentiator in retail, and at Harvey Nichols we supported the sales associates to express themselves creatively in their appearance whilst also being knowledgeable, passionate and friendly, which is not always the case in the world of luxury.
Most frequently used store?
Practically speaking, it is M&S for groceries. Can’t beat it!
The store you wished you’d created?
La Samaritane in Paris – it’s a 19th century landmark, which re-opened in 2021 after a 15-year closure with a $900 million restoration by LVMH. Although the retail space is relatively small for a department store, the stunning architecture incorporates Art Deco and Art Nouveau elements. As you walk in, and look up, the atrium is crowned by a spectacular glass roof featuring a majestic gold-hued peacock mural, 115 metres in length. It’s an exceptionally beautiful store.
Secondly, I wish I had created Net-a-Porter (NAP), which introduced the concept of online shopping for luxury fashion, back in 2000. Even though there are some question marks today, around the financial sustainability of pure-play, multi-brand department stores (FarFetch, Matches, SSense), NAP revolutionised how we shop today.
Your overall favourite store?
Predictably Harvey Nichols is high on this list! An afternoon spent with the Private Shopping team trying on different outfits followed by lunch on the 5th floor is always great fun.
However, when I am travelling, I try to get away from homogenous high streets and prefer to shop in boutiques to discover local designers, rather than brands that I can easily find near home.
My daughter has just moved to Florence and there are so many tiny beautiful artisanal stores in the back streets with one-of-a-kind pieces. I also love the glitz and glamour of shopping in India; there is an amazing mix of renowned Indian designers as well as smaller stores that have existed for generations, with everything exquisitely hand made.
The store you’d like to take to the desert island?
I would probably say Amazon, for the breadth of product and delivery proposition. For all retailers, regardless of which sector they operate within, this is the delivery service standard that customers now expect. If Amazon can do same day or 1-hour delivery slots, then that is the competitive landscape.
