“We shall fight on the beaches; we shall never surrender.” Stirring words from Mr Churchill, but it’s his namesake, Winston the bulldog, who takes centre stage along with his owner, Tracey Brown, in her Hot 100 picture this year.
That Churchillian spirit can be seen in Brown’s attitude towards running Chisholm Hunter, which has experienced another hugely successful 12 months. “Over the past year Chisholm Hunter has opened four new stores and refitted two of our existing stores. I think opening four new stores has to be top of the long list of successes last year!”
It is evident that Brown and her team at Chisholm Hunter have not been resting on their laurels then since last year’s Hot 100, especially with new shop-in-shops being introduced into the company’s larger stores and the doubling in size of its head office.
Brown has her own ways of getting away from it all and making sure that she can still see the wood despite the trees, not least driving her daughter and her show jumping ponies (stars of Brown’s Hot 100 portrait last year) to premier shows most weekends. “We are just so busy at the shows that it gives me a break from the business which I feel is beneficial and I can then go into work on a Monday morning with fresh ideas.”
This does not mean that Brown becomes a different person outside of work. In fact, she sees her consistent personality as a major asset. “I am motivated and driven and this shows through my children and my extended family at Chisholm Hunter. I try hard to help them achieve their goals and this is exactly what I do for my children. There may be a slight difference in that my work colleagues do not refer to me as ‘Mum’ though!”
More success is planned for the coming year, not that Winston the bulldog will care. Brown would have it no other way: “He makes me smile no matter what!” Good on you, Winston.
