Natural Evolution on Gladstone

NOW LOCALLY OWNED: Jenna McGuffog has been the manager at Evolution for years. She worked her way up, starting as a part time retail assistant more than six years ago. Now she has bought the store she helped cement in Gisborne, marking Evolution's move from being part of a small national chain to a locally owned business. Picture by Liam Clayton

EVOLUTION has been in Gisborne for nearly a decade but there has been one big change this year . . . it is now locally owned.

Jenna McGuffog has worked at Evolution clothing store for around seven years. She started as a part-time retail assistant and worked her way up to be manager.

Three months ago Miranda Cobb, the owner of six Evolution stores nationwide, decided to downsize her commitment to the brand — so she sold two, the Taupo and Gisborne outlets.

Jenna jumped at the chance and on June 1 she took over as owner of the store. To mark the occasion the store’s name has changed slightly to Evolution on Gladstone. The new responsibility has come pretty easily so far, due to her experience with the local store and the chain.

“I used to just get the clothes and put them on the rack, as well as the day-to-day running of the store. Now I am the buyer, so I go on buying trips about once every six weeks.”

Jenna still uses Evolution’s stockists in Australia on her trips but now she is making all the decisions on what goes in the store.

“It is a little bit nerve-racking, as I was not 100 percent sure people would like what I picked. As a buyer you cannot just pick what you like, you have to think outside the square. The travelling is also a lot to get used to,” she says.

Jenna’s advice to wannabe retail owners is to get some experience.

“If I did not have access to Miranda’s contacts and the knowledge of the industry and the job, I would not have a clue what I was doing.

“Change your window displays often too, it shows people what you have to offer. I change mine about twice a week and sometimes people come in and buy the whole outfit.”

Jenna does not have any formal business training but says she has enough experience running the store for that to not be an issue.

“I have been here for so long and Miranda always challenged me anyway. One problem though, has been finding bigger sizes to stock.”

Another challenge has been changing people’s perception that Evolution on Gladstone is only for young women.

“I used to have lots of people coming in saying they loved the clothes but they were just a bit young for them. The big thing has been picking more styles and a bigger range that everyone could wear.

“The response has been very reassuring and it has all been running pretty smoothly.”

Winter is typically a challenging season for retail, so Jenna is excited to try her hand at summer buying.

“For being in the middle of winter, sales have been pretty damn good. It will be interesting to see what it is like in summer.”