Jo Henderson is set to leave Wave, the watch and jewellery retail business that she co-founded with Paul Henderson, as the chain closes two of its stores and plans to upgrade its existing shops. The retailer has also said that it will now build on its watch offer.
Paul Henderson, who will now be the sole director at the business, told WatchPro that Jo will be pursuing another role elsewhere in the jewellery industry but gave no further details.
He added: "She has my full support and I hers going forward. There will be a transitional handover period."
Wave recently shut two of its stores, one in Bowness on Windemere and one in Lancaster. The business has continued to trade from two stores in Manchester and Kendal.
Henderson said that he has plans to refurbish the two stores and refresh the product offer over the next few months, adding that Wave "will undoubtedly increase its average sale price going forward with these two stores due to the stores’ locations and style".
He also said: "Our watch offering should be even more exciting going forward – so watch this space."
He added: "We have restructured the company and reassessed the company’s clients and core values. I believe Wave is now ideally represented for the future by the Kendal and Manchester stores only, both of which are luxury, 1,000 square feet plus stores.
"They have continued to trade with great success and luxury brands and in the main already cover the Lancaster and Bowness stores’ catchment areas well. I continue to and look forward to working with those brands who have supported us and we will work deeper and more closely with them going forward."
To shift stock following the closure of the Bowness and Lancaster stores Wave has been running highly publicised sales, which will come to a close this week. The sales were kickstarted with private sales days and Henderson reports that one store had more than 1,000 people through its doors on the first day.
He added: "It has been a major success with queues up the street. We mailed 40,000 clients and used our 20,000 social media fans. So it was no surprise if I’m honest, as we have an amazing and very supportive customer base."
