Originally from Nottingham, Duncan Graham, managing director, Retail Excellence acquired a wealth of experience in Irish retail following his arrival in Cork in 1996, where he spent two years running the Marks and Spencer store before relocating to Dublin. Since then, he has worked with Brown Thomas as general manager before becoming CEO of a ladies wear company. For the last nine years, he has been responsible for the expansion of the Specsavers brand across Ireland, Scotland and Spain. He talks to Donna Ahern
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was working in an electrical store aged 16. One of my jobs on Saturday was to clean all the vans.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
I would say the challenge, the variety and meeting and supporting retailers. It’s fascinating and inspiring to see how retailers are coping during such volatile times.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
Hopefully still heading up Retail Excellence and inspiring talented retailers to make the most of this incredible industry.
What is your advice to people starting out in the retail industry?
Prepare for a bumpy ride. You will never learn more than you will at the moment. Put things down to experience, learn from it, and store it up for the future.
What was your worst job, and what was so bad about it?
My worst job was a summer that I spent making up cardboard boxes in a trout processing and packaging plant. It was monotonous.
What do you think the government could do to help business in the current climate?
The government could issue a code of practice and introduce an arbitration service to help with the speedy resolution of disputes between retailers and landlords. We are in a stalemate situation at the moment and innovative solutions are required to break the impasse.
What three business people do you most admire and why?
Firstly, my previous employer Doug Perkins in Specsavers. He is an amazing man who is still running the biggest private opticians in the world in his 70s. Next, Paul Kelly, my old boss in Brown Thomas, who taught me more about service than anyone else. Finally, Michael O’Leary, for cutting through the bullshit.
What advertising campaign have you most enjoyed in recent months?
The ad campaign that I have most enjoyed is The Monster Hunter by Three.
If you could bring back one product that is no longer available in Ireland, what would it be?
Curly Wurly, where did they go?
What was your favourite grocery brand when you were growing up?
Golden Lemonade - it was made by my grandfather’s company and was similar to red lemonade
Who would come to your ideal dinner party (living or dead)?
Brian Clough from Nottingham Forest (In his eyes he wasn’t the best soccer manager in the world but he was on a shortlist of one!).
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I will give you two - seek to understand before trying to be understood, and catch people in the act of doing something approximately right.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Putting on the running shoes and doing five kilometres is a great way to clear the mind.
How much time do you spend on social media in an average week?
Too much. Probably at least an hour a day.
Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn?
It would be a tie between Twitter and LinkedIn.
With which fictional character do you most identify?
Robin Hood – it must have something to do with my Nottingham upbringing (see above)
Most likely to say?
“And what are your thoughts on this?”
Least likely to say?
“Do it this way.”
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
