Interview: The passion and professionalism of Caroline South

From the age of 14 Caroline South had her sights set on a career in beauty. She attended the London School of Fashion and intended to join the BBC as a makeup artist.

However, an interim job as a Beauty Consultant in Selfridges opened up a new world and sent South on what she now describes as a “very different journey”. It’s a journey which has taken her as Founder and CEO of Caroline South Associatesto the top of the perfumes & cosmetics (P&C) category in UK travel retail. And it has led to the development of an innovative Retail Academy app, which is changing the face of training in beauty – and quite possibly other categories.

In 1991 Caroline South set out on a mission to “nurture and develop” premium beauty brands in UK travel retail. Her business – Caroline South Associates (CSA)– was based in her bedroom where office furniture was limited to an Amstrad computer on a garden table-desk.

28 years on and CSA has developed into a leading P&C agency in its field. With a staff of 170, it represents 20 fragrance, skincare and cosmetic brands and claims a 10% share of beauty within Heathrow and in other airport, ferry and ferry terminal stores throughout the UK and Ireland.

Stepping up for P&C in travel retail: Caroline South (left) with members of her CSA team (from left to right): Travel Retail Supervisor Zoe Fergus Smith; Retail Manager Cristina Ruiz Villoria; Brand Manager Becka O’Flanagan; Brand Manager Tina Murad; Travel Retail Supervisor Ode Enwya and General Manager Retail Academy Tom Moroney

And CSA has moved beyond just brand representation. Through its Retail Academy, the agency is determined to offer the correct training for consultants in the beauty category. The academy combines personal training with an innovative app which can be used by both the brands and CSA staff members.

The Retail Academy has been fully supported by Dufry since its introduction in 2016. According to South, the programme has also attracted the attention of other retailers and non-P&C brands.

It’s being widely talked about in travel retail and its success is surprising even its creator.

What prompted your interest in beauty and then in travel retail?

“I trained at the London College of Fashion and started my career as a Beauty Consultant on the UK high Street in 1980. I intended to join the BBC as a make-up artist but work as a Beauty Consultant in Selfridges opened a new world to me and sent me on a very different journey,” South says.

Flashback to 1991 and Caroline South starts a long partnership with Escada. She is pictured here to the right of former Escada Beaute Americas COO Nicholas Ratut

She joined Clarins and within three years become National Sales Manager. In 1985 the duty free world beckoned and South joined Allders International as Travel Retail Perfume Manager. “At the time there were very few women in management roles. It was pre-abolition of intra-EU duty free sales; staff members were generic and poorly trained, with little or no branding in-store.

“It should have sent me running for the hills, but it didn’t.”

South was promoted to P&C Buyer and initiated several developments across UK airports. She played a pivotal role in the introduction of cosmetics as a category, advocated open sell, the customisation of P&C counters and specialised trained staffing.

“All that coincided with the arrival of Barry Gibson [former BAA Group Retail Director]. His vision for luxury shopping environments revolutionised travel retail in UK airports.”

Caroline South: “I have the ultimate respect for the demands placed on beauty consultants”

Setting out alone

“In 1991, after five years working across store management, merchandising, marketing and buying – and driven by a love of the travel retail industry and a determination to make a difference – I left to start my own business.

“Inspired by the revolution I had been involved with from a retailer’s perspective, I set about offering management services to brands that would support them through the changing retail landscape and the period leading up to the abolition of intra-EU duty free.”

South’s primary concern then – and now – was the standard of service offered by beauty consultants in travel retail; she was – and still is – concerned about “the perceived lack of enthusiasm in the long-term career path of a beauty consultant”.

“It is true that it can be an easy access role, which doesn’t demand a high level of previous experience or professional qualifications, but that does not mean we should settle for poor standards or transient staff.

“Remember that I started my career as a BC and therefore have the ultimate respect for the demands placed upon them and how their behaviour and attitudes can have such an impact on the brands both positively and negatively.”

Is that was prompted you to develop the Retail Academy?

“I created the RA alongside CSA to raise standards on the shop floor for the company’s brands. The academy is committed to providing first-class training and development to our team of consultants.

“It aims to recruit for counter vacancies with the right profile of consultant with the correct language/specialist skills and, through training, ensure that new recruits are of a suitable standard. Keeping up with technology is vital as is maintaining data to resolve any counter issues.”

The Retail Academy is committed to providing skills to enable beauty consultants to deal with customers from the first encounter

South says RA offers an opportunity to “give back to the brands that have supported CSA”.

“It was a rather costly investment… but I believe we have to offer something special and, at the same time, we must be willing to change and evolve.”

South says she was determined to find ways “to harness modern technology, to deliver greater results and to create a competitive edge in an increasingly saturated market”.

“It’s all about relevance to market and I believe we are in a good place. There is a lot of talk in the industry about the relevance of digital in travel retail. Some companies have embraced it and others remain at the talking stage. Our brands have been blown away by the app which has proved to be one step ahead of the marketplace.”

Step-by-step training is available via digital and mobile devices

How do you choose your Retail Academy candidates?

“At recruitment stage we look at several key factors; the brand and category they will represent and its objectives, along with its demographic audience. We work closely with Dufry to obtain destination analysis and critical trading graphs to plot peak trading patterns. We then try to recruit based on top destination drivers for the brand and any necessary language skills required which can be numerous and complex.”

It is not essential to have relevant experience, but the right personality and love for the category are crucial in order to bring fresh and motivated staff into CSA and into the industry, South adds.

According to Caroline South, finding the right personalities is crucial in beauty consultancy

What does the Retail Academy encompass?

“The Retail Academy programme/journey starts with four training modules, which include customer service, skincare, fragrance and colour. Foundation courses must be completed before any brand-specific training and on-line interactive lessons are available.”

South says brand training modules are “clear, concise and easily followed, even on a mobile”.

The online training platform is designed to complement and supplement traditional training methods.

“It’s all about enhancing the service and information that is already provided,” South adds. The system offers flexible video capability which can be used to communicate brand videos to consultants or makeup tutorials, for example, for each different brand. It can also work alongside each brand to tailor the video content sent through to the sales consultants.

“We in the industry are fortunate that our critical mass is driven by consumers taking flights. How we engage with them on their journey ultimately will dictate our conversion into sales.”

Brand training modules are included in the Retail Academy app

How have the brands and retailers reacted to the Retail Academy?

“It’s been overwhelmingly well received and is embraced by workers who like its flexibility,” South replies. Consultants can check and refresh any aspect of the course and the Retail Academy can be used in training temporary workers to reach the same level as CSA’s permanent staff members.

Does the Retail Academy go beyond training?

“Yes, most certainly. The app creates a data base via a dashboard which allows CSA to monitor performance and knowledge of the brand the consultants are selling. It is regularly updated and recent additions include facilities for daily recording of sales in real time for review and immediate follow up, photographic records of best practices, promotions and visual merchandising and a geographical attendance logging system.”

The training platform also allows for close collaboration with retailers to ensure best practice and adherence to their own guidelines in order to offer a consistent level of service across the shop floor.

Assessments are part and parcel of the CSA training system

Would you consider extending RA beyond the P&C category?

“P&C is our area of expertise and, of course, that was a natural place to start. However, our success in this area to-date has led us to consider development into other categories, particularly liquor where we can see some obvious synergies and natural transferable technology.

“Our formula is simple and effective and can be applied to any brand that has a story to tell and information to deliver, which comprehensively covers most of the market.”

What do you believe is the critical factor in the survival of travel retail?

“That comes back yet again to customer experience and engagement. At a time when high street retailers are flagging, and in some cases, disappearing, travel retail has great potential. We in the industry are fortunate that our critical mass is driven by consumers taking flights. How we engage with them on their journey ultimately will dictate our conversion into sales.”

Caroline South underlines the importance of customer experience and engagement in travel retail

South emphasises the omnichannel approach to airport retailing and underlines categories which include:

  • Online – social media, rewards programmes, pre-travel communication, website display, influencers;
  • In the airport – activation sites, digital screens, airport magazines, Wi-Fi trigger points;
  • In store – brand choice, pricing, POS, gifting, loyalty points, cotentainment, beauty services.

“Penetration can be dictated by a number of these touch points along the journey, which makes the need for outstanding sales staff even more critical. Can you imagine the level of disappointment if our customer does not receive a service level at least equivalent to the level of investment into the consumer journey?”

Is there room for further brand expansion in the travel retail P&C category?

“The market is most definitely saturated, and the stores are not necessarily getting any bigger, so expansion for brands is a challenge,” South says.

She describes the Haute Perfumery concept in UK travel retail as “an interesting model which allows new and niche brands to be trialled with a minimum of financial exposure for both parties”. Fixtures are semi-personalised and relatively new and underdeveloped brands are given an agreed period to establish themselves to see how they fare.

“We have recently launched several new smaller brands in this way with great success utilising our staffing through the Retail Academy,” South says.

She acknowledges the pressure faced by existing brands to maintain market share in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “We have worked on some interesting initiatives through the use of beauty services in-store which is a highly effective tool in customer engagement and effective sales conversion. In addition, our fragrance brands work hard to create sophisticated travel retail exclusives, travel sizes, and tailored promotional ranges, which can contribute up to 30% of their mix with good results.”

Considering the “unknown challenge” of Brexit, South says: “Who would have thought that 20 years after the abolition fight, that we could find ourselves in a situation where duty free is re-introduced into the UK? However, experience has taught me that we are a particularly robust bunch and our response will be a steely determination to succeed as has been proved on so many other occasions in the past.”

Crystal ball gazing and maintaining a hands-on approach

With nearly three decades in the business, South is looking to the future and investing not just in technology but also in tech-savvy millennials who can offer and support new ideas, especially in the digital world. Her 25-year-old son Tom has moved into the business and will ultimately take over the reins.

“After 34 wonderful years in the travel retail industry, it is clearly time to think about succession, although I have too many ideas and too much energy to think about retirement yet. I have a lot more to do!”

Adopting a team approach: Caroline South Associates celebrate a fundraising effort for Sport Relief

Even though the company has grown to 170 staff members, South remains “very much hands-on” at all levels. “I am very strong on the bricks and mortar; I like to be around people and believe that is how you motivate people.

“The growth and success of our brand representation is due in part by offering a bespoke service which drills into the individual DNA with a long-term nurturing approach. I understood early on that we must respect the brand integrity to create trust and success, which in turn has built long-term relationships, in some cases of more than 25 years,” South says.

Passion for travel retail

South says CSA has “come a long way”. “It’s a far cry from its inception in my bedroom all those years ago although the ambitions and mission to a certain extent remain unchanged. Above all, I want to encourage the feeling of a family business which nurtures and supports its staff whatever its critical mass and upholds the company’s values of empathy, honesty and respect.

“In a saturated market I believe the advancements in our training capacity and standards of retail excellence will be the ultimate difference for the brands we represent at CSA. And I hope it ensures that I somehow create a legacy for the profession I am so proud of and the industry I love.”

South’s passion for travel retail is unwavering. “I fell in love with the industry before I set up my own business and I am very proud to be associated with it.”

 

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