Interview with Linda Owen: Staying in style

The glass-half-full view of fashion retailer New Look goes something like this: in a fiercely competitive sector, New Look is the UK’s second largest – yes, the number two – womenswear retailer (to Marks & Spencer), with sales of £1.5 billion and 5.8 per cent market share in women’s clothing and accessories. An ambitious growth strategy encompassing shop space, online and international markets is paying off and New Look’s BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) of being the “leading international fashion value retailer” is not as fantastical as it would have been just a few years ago.