Mary Portas
Wednesday 18 March
We meet the innovative businesswoman and activist who dramatically changed the face of retail when revitalising the Kensington department store Harvey Nichols. Also know as Britain's 'Queen of Shops' Mary discusses her most recent book I Shop, Therefore I Am with author, podcaster and journalist Hattie Crisell; a fascinating story that focuses on her vision of 'business as a creative act', all told with Portas wit, grit and candour.
Interviewer:
Hattie Crisell
Hattie Crisell is the author of ‘In Writing: Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation’. She’s a freelance journalist and contributing editor of Grazia magazine.
Hattie often chairs events at bookshops and festivals and has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Front Row and Woman's Hour.
I Shop, Therefore I am
Well known from her many series on the small screen, Mary Portas joins us at Kent House to talk about her fascinating story, starting from a time early in her career when she critically ‘stalked the floor’ of Harvey Nichols prior to turning it into the forward looking, trend setting department store that it is today, a startling contrast to the fusty outlet of old, more associated with dowagers than daring designers.
Mary has subsequently gone on to launch her own creative company with a specific mission to transform businesses into brands - places and spaces that people want in their lives. Today her team works with clients ranging from Mercedes to Sainsbury’s whilst she has also become a regular on TV presenting series such as Mary Portas: Secret Shopper and Mary Queen of the High Street.
Her latest book I Shop, Therefore I Am takes us behind the shop window and tells first-hand how, armed only with the blank canvas of a shop window and her own striking creativity, Mary turned Harvey Nicks into a store known for its outrageous, headline grabbing, traffic-stopping window displays, going on to create a business empire that has stood the test of time.
"Portas is a sort of tornado, unpredictable, funny and slightly terrifying, travelling at the speed of light. But in the quiet eye of this storm of a book lies great wisdom and truth. Absolutely irresistible. " JOANNA LUMLEY