{"id":209744,"date":"2022-06-10T17:51:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T16:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=209744"},"modified":"2022-06-30T18:00:15","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:00:15","slug":"ian-watson-ceo-unbound-group-parent-co-of-hotter-shoes","status":"publish","type":"podcasts","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/podcasts\/ian-watson-ceo-unbound-group-parent-co-of-hotter-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Agility amid Uncertainty: Ian Watson, CEO, Unbound Group, parent company of Hotter Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Welcome to \u2018Agility amid Uncertainty\u2019 our latest podcast in partnership with international logistics company Advanced Supply Chain Group.<\/strong>\u00a0In this series we will explore how six leading fashion retailers are managing their businesses in the face of some of the greatest disruption the world has experienced in a lifetime.<\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-10771448\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/991828\/10771448-agility-amid-uncertainty-feat-ian-watson-ceo-unbound-group-parent-co-of-hotter-shoes.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-10771448&player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It would be hard to find a better example of someone who has demonstrated agility (and a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm) in the face of uncertainty than <strong>Ian Watson. Ian is CEO of Unbound Group, parent company of British comfort footwear brand Hotter Shoes<\/strong>, which is about to launch a fully fledged apparel, footwear and lifestyle platform for the over 50s market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ian took on the CEO role at Hotter just before the pandemic dawned, knowing that he had to execute a turnaround on behalf of its then owner, the private equity house Electra. What he didn\u2019t know, and what none of us knew, was that he\u2019d have to restructure the business in the midst of one of the most extraordinary and disruptive of global events, the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ian pivoted the business to a digital first model, closing most, but not all, of its retail stores, and investing heavily in product development and fit technology, which is employed in-store, online and via its innovative app. At the end of the process he floated the business on the London Stock Exchange at the start of the year and revealed his plans for the <strong>Unbound multi-brand platform<\/strong>, which will be unveiled later this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ian tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion about the <strong>incredible journey he has taken with the business over the past few years and his future vision for the company<\/strong> as it plans to take an underserved market by storm.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Listen to episode one of this series feat. Mint Velvet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/podcasts\/agility-amid-uncertainty-navigating-disruption-by-enhancing-service-feat-mint-velvet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Listen to episode two of this series feat. Boohoo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/podcasts\/agility-amid-uncertainty-preparing-for-peak-its-never-too-early-feat-boohoo-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Listen to episode three of this series feat. Jigsaw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/podcasts\/agility-amid-uncertainty-feat-beth-butterwick-ceo-jigsaw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Listen to episode four of this series feat. ASCG <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/podcasts\/ben-balfour-coo-ascg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In proud partnership with<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-187766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ASCG_Blue_logo-2-300x74.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"74\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ASCG_Blue_logo-2-300x74.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ASCG_Blue_logo-2-768x189.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ASCG_Blue_logo-2.jpg 824w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":209746,"template":"","podcasts":[],"podcast_category":[23250],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TheIndustry.fashion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TheIndustry.fashion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@theindustryfash\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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