Annie Wells Jackson
VP-Merchandising & Planning, Credo
http://credobeauty.com
Founded: 2014
Some of us were born with natural talents, but not all of us tap into them at such a young age. Annie Wells Jackson could be considered a wiz kid when it comes to branding, merchandising and marketing. She’s been in the retail trenches for decades working with large corporations, owning her own boutique children’s store and, most recently, joining the team at Credo. As VP of Merchandising & Planning, she’s been instrumental in the launching of stores in San Francisco and New York City. The company, founded in 2014, is in its infancy, but is growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, InStyle magazine’s called Credo “…your new beauty mecca.”
Annie sat down with us recently to share her unique journey and generously pass along some of her hard-won wisdom to our readers. For those who are interested in starting a new venture or who want to grow the one they already have, here are some of Annie’s candid thoughts and inspirational advice.
PDs Inc: What’s your personal background and experience?
Annie: I’ve been in retail my entire career in different roles. After high school, I moved to the Caribbean and started working on charter boats. I really wanted to experience life, but island fever kicked in and I was ready to come home. I wanted to go to the movies and, I would say, longed to wear shoes again (but that would be a lie).
I embarked on my job search as soon as I returned (I’ve never done well sitting around—I get bored very fast). I lucked out and found a position with Estee Lauder as an assistant. I did everything from fetching lunches to creating account profiles for our retail partners. I hated math and was quite bad at it in school, yet I was compiling numbers for Lauder visits. It was a turning point for me. I discovered I was really curious about results and different ways to analyze business. I was at Lauder for about 7 years before I moved on to Sephora in 1998.
When we launched Sephora in the U.S. we saw there was a tidal wave of indy brands that needed a platform to showcase their products. The catalyst for Credo has been a parallel to that; introducing a second generation of entrepreneurs and makers who are passionate about the beauty category, who are creating holistically, and who are informed about the harmful ingredients that exist in most conventional products.
PDs Inc: What’s your company’s vision?
Annie: Credo is on a mission and our mission is pretty simple, but very important. We want to inform people in a way that awakens their conscientious side. All our brands are clean, beautiful and efficacious. Everything is also cruelty free and doesn’t have any harmful or toxic ingredients. Our brands focus on natural ingredients, ethical sourcing and sustainable production. Our goal is to give these brands a national platform that is as authentic and transparent as they are.
PDs Inc: Why did you start your business and what was the hardest part?
Annie: We developed the concept of Credo because we couldn’t find a destination where a collection of safe, beautiful and effective products were available all in one place. We wanted to create a space where the experience included educated/expert staff and a beautiful environment where people can play and learn about this great category.
We have challenges as a start up because all of us came from organizations that had endless resources. At Credo, I like to say we are small, but mighty. We have to be really creative about how to tackle major initiatives because we are so few people. This forces us to really think things through, and use our past experiences to lift us up, not bring us down. It’s really motivating and we love how fast we can get things done.
PDs Inc: What role or importance does content play in your marketing strategy and what were the results?
Annie: We don’t believe people want to deliberately live an unhealthy lifestyle, whether it’s the food they eat or the beauty products they use. Natural remedies have been used for thousands of years before chemically engineered substitutes were formulated. The long-term impact of many of these synthetics remain a mystery while the production of them, in so many instances, is not sustainable. And a lot of misconceptions about natural products and their effectiveness remain. Therefore, our use of content – by way of blogs, social media, videos and expert education—shifts the perception of the effectiveness of this category. This is key for us. It’s something we will continue to build upon.
PDs Inc: What business/marketing tactics have worked the best for you?
Annie: We are a young company and still testing out many different initiatives. Our concept is a store concept, so people have to feel, smell and try these beautiful products to truly get the experience. Right now, we continue to evolve our event formats and test a lot of different things in order to bring awareness to our brands and our stores.
PDs Inc: What marketing trends do you think are most important right now?
Annie: Social media is instantaneous and you can test and try many different things for little or no money. The analytics are also really accessible, so we can measure and tweak things every day.
PDs Inc: What advice would you give others starting out?
Annie: Don’t be afraid to talk to people you admire or that are doing things in the space you want to be in. People are typically very willing to help other people. There’s a real camaraderie among people in start-ups, plus I’ve found that people like to share their experiences and offer help wherever they can.
PDs Inc: How do you maintain work/life balance?
Annie: I have a really supportive family, so the only guilt tripping I get is from myself. I also work with an incredible team and we all support each other. My kids are older now, so when I can I bring my daughter to work. She’s 14, loves beauty and feels good about working. They’re so proud of Credo and love to help out when they can.
PDs Inc: What is your biggest lesson learned?
Annie: When you’re embarking on a new initiative make sure you can measure the results and that you know what you want those results to be. You have no idea how many wild goose chases I’ve been on – in really big organizations where they’ve spent lots of time and money, only to move onto the next thing. Assess your leanings. Be honest with your team about what worked and what didn’t. Make all the work you did worth it.