With Kathryn Jaquet

In the hot seat

With Kathryn Jaquet, managing director of Milton Keynes based retailer RB Equestrian.

Kathryn Jaquet on the shop floor at R B Equestrian. “Bricks-and-mortar retailers that run highly professional businesses where the customers come first will always be needed,” she says.

WHAT DOES YOUR JOB INVOLVE?

A bit of everything. Theoretically, I should be spending my time working on strategy and big projects, but the reality is usually quite different.

Like any small business owner, day to day it’s a mixture of doing lots of things. From keeping on top of regulatory requirements to working on the shop floor, it’s all in the mix.

I’m a RAMA (registered animal medicines advisor) so I can prescribe and sell wormers. I also hat and body protector fit if we’re busy. I’m not too senior to do anything – including cleaning the loo!

WHAT DID YOU DO CAREER-WISE PREVIOUSLY?

My very first job was as a Saturday girl at RB Equestrian. I then went off to university and law school, qualified as a solicitor and worked in the City for a few years.

Fundamentally though, that wasn’t for me and I came back to RB Equestrian. I’d negotiated with my parents [Ted and Rosslyn Boggis who founded the business] that I’d try it full-time for a year and if it didn’t work out, I’d get another ‘proper job’. 18 years later I’m still here - so I think it was probably the right decision.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?

It’s a cliché, but it really is the people. We’ve got an amazing team at RB Equestrian and I’ve known some of our customers for 30 years. It’s genuinely interesting to find out what’s happening in their lives and we, as a team, have seen people through some very happy times and some very hard times. I love the interaction with people and developing new relationships.

“If it was easy being a retailer, we’d all be sitting on a beach sipping a cocktail.”

AND WHAT DO YOU HATE?

Never feeling like I’ve finished… but I’m sure that’s something most business owners feel. There’s always more to do, and more you can do.

HOW CAN SUPPLIERS BEST HELP THEIR RETAIL CUSTOMERS IN THE CURRENT TIGHT FINANCIAL CLIMATE?

Hold more stock. More and more products need to be ordered months in advance and it’s a real challenge – especially predicting what you might need in terms of quantities and storage and for cashflow.

It was once the case that only seasonal clothing and rugs had to be ordered in advance. But now there are increasing numbers of items that must be forward ordered.

I understand this is also difficult for suppliers, and that there have obviously been some very significant global challenges over the last couple of years. But this trend was happening before Covid hit and it does sometimes feel (although not always – there are lots of great suppliers out there) that predicting stock has become much more the responsibility of the retailer rather than the supplier.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN TAKING ON NEW STAFF TO WORK IN STORE?

Predominantly a positive attitude and someone who will fit well with the team.

I ask myself ‘do I think this person will make life at RB Equestrian easier?’ If the answer isn’t a definite ‘yes’, then regardless of experience or qualifications, they probably aren’t for us. When we interview, we score much more on personality and attitude than we do on anything else. We look for people who like people; that’s the most important thing for our customers and our existing team..

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT IN BUSINESS SO FAR?

Winning the Retailer of the Year at the BETA Business Awards. Every award makes us proud – Tia Partington won Retail Employee of the Year this year - but it’s hard to top the first one we ever received when we really felt we were an insignificant tack shop. It gave us the confidence to carry on developing and growing.

WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT THE EQUESTRIAN TRADE?

Sometimes I think there can be a lack of professionalism in the equestrian industry; it’s probably the case with all retail industries. With all of the many ways to sell now, there’s a perception that it’s quite easy to buy something and sell it for a profit.

I often wonder how many sellers are fulfilling all of their responsibilities and what happens when things go wrong? If it was easy being a retailer, we’d all be sitting on a beach somewhere sipping a cocktail instead of working long hours in our businesses.

WILL THERE STILL BE A PLACE FOR BRICKS-ANDMORTAR SADDLERY SHOPS IN TEN YEARS’ TIME?

Yes. The more automated life becomes, the greater the appeal of bricks-and-mortar shops. Obviously, things have changed and will continue to change, but sometimes the draw of human interaction is what the consumer wants.

I know there will be stores that close; that would happen even if the market didn’t change. But the bricks-and-mortar retailers that run highly professional businesses where the customers come first will always be needed.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A SCHOOL-LEAVER LOOKING AT THE EQUESTRIAN TRADE AS A POTENTIAL PLACE TO WORK?

Think about what you really enjoy doing and whether the equestrian trade allows you to do this. And when I say enjoy, I don’t just mean horses; I mean tap into your strengths and really work out what makes you tick.

If you enjoy making things, then you’ll probably be happier with a career in saddlery than as a groom. By identifying your skills, you can find jobs that need those skills. It’s going to lead to a happier career, which is what it’s all about.