One of the biggest challenges facing the modern high street jeweller is how to accept, and even embrace, the irrepressible force of online shopping. For a company like HS Johnson, which has been trading on the high street since 1946, the changing landscape presents nothing but opportunities.
Therefore the team behind this hugely successful retailer is setting its sights globally. “We’re making inroads into international markets,” explains Steve Mason, who looks over the ever-expanding online business. “There is such a massive opportunity for all in going global and you can never be big enough! Even the likes of Apple have some areas where they need to push their brand.”
This is a company that will not rest on its laurels, with Mason, Michael Samuel Johnson and Niki Mortimer at the helm. “We may have been around since 1946 but we are not sitting still in any areas.”
As their photo would suggest, a love of animals plays a key role in the lives of the trio when they’re not in the office. “Away from work our lives are full of horse-related stuff,” Mason explains. “Niki showjumps so we are away at shows quite a bit with Zara the whippet to keep me company, so it seemed appropriate to include the animal family in the photo too.”
That said, the line between work and home life is sometimes all too easily blurred. “We currently live above the shop so we are always at work!” jokes Mason. “In this always-open world online, the gap between home and work is hard to define and keep defined.”
There is one beneficiary of this work/life balance conundrum though. “It’s great for the dog as she is always with us!”
