Scaling an Iconic British Handbag Brand for E-Commerce Growth
The Client: A British Handbag Brand in Transition
A globally recognised handbag brand, best known for its bold, statement designs, was at a critical turning point. Having built success through physical retail and wholesale partnerships, the business needed to transition into an e-commerce-first model to remain competitive.
The incoming CEO recognised that the people strategy needed to align with the company’s transformation or risk further financial instability. However, the business had never invested in structured People Operations, leaving it without the right foundations to support its next stage of growth.
This is a familiar challenge for established brands undergoing major transitions—People Operations often lag behind until they become a business risk.
The CEO needed to restructure the business, retain key talent, and implement a people strategy that supported long-term growth. That’s where I stepped in.
The Objective: Stabilising &
Future-Proofing the People Function
When I joined as Interim People Director, it was clear that the business needed urgent intervention to:
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Rebuild essential People Operations from scratch, ensuring payroll and key people processes were re-established after restructuring
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Create hiring and performance frameworks that enabled long-term, scalable growth
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Need pragmatic, no-nonsense people solutions that align with their growth goals.
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Operate in the Midlands or beyond and want an experienced people leader without the full-time overhead.
Before my involvement, the company had no structured People Operations in place. Payroll had been removed, there was no centralised employee data, and the approach to hiring, retention, and performance management was inconsistent at best. The challenge was not only rebuilding these functions but also creating a cost-effective, scalable solution that fit the company's leaner, e-commerce-focused future.
The Solution: A People Strategy Fit for a
Scaling E-Commerce Brand
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Led the full-scale restructure, working closely with the CEO, CFO, external legal counsel and administrators to implement a people strategy aligned with the company’s e-commerce-first transition
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Fixed costly hiring inefficiencies by introducing a direct hiring strategy, reducing recruitment costs by £40K while ensuring the right talent was brought into key roles
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Navigated redundancy and TUPE processes with a legally sound, people-first approach that minimised disruption and ensured key talent was retained
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Strengthened leadership and employee engagement by redefining performance management, driving accountability, trust, and a culture of high performance
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Phased out external support smoothly, ensuring a structured and effective handover
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Hired an in-house People Partner, ensuring the company had dedicated internal ownership of People Operations as a standalone role. After a brief but structured handover, I transitioned out, leaving behind a scalable, fit-for-purpose people function aligned with the company’s early-stage startup model.
This was not about layering in HR for the sake of it. Every decision was made to align People Operations with business goals, ensuring the brand could scale efficiently without unnecessary overhead.
What Got Fixed and What Improved
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Leadership & Talent Infrastructure created a structured, sustainable People function aligned with the company’s e-commerce-first strategy
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Role Clarity & Performance Management introduced structured job profiles and accountability measures, ensuring employees had clear expectations
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Hiring & Workforce Planning introduced a direct hiring strategy, cutting recruitment costs by £40K and ensuring critical roles were filled with the right talent
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Payroll & People Operations reintroduced payroll and established scalable People processes to support future growth
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Employee Retention & Engagement created a structured, transparent approach to leadership, increasing engagement and improving trust within the business
While the company was still in transition, the people function was now stable, scalable, and aligned with its e-commerce-first vision.
What the CEO Had to Say
“Lindsay played a key role in stabilising and rebuilding our People Operations during a critical period of transition. Her knowledge, leadership, and ability to align people strategy with business goals made a lasting impact on our company.”
Takeaway for Founders & Business Leaders
Many founders wait too long to invest in People Operations, unsure of what good looks like or believing they can figure it out later. But as this brand proved, neglecting people strategy during a business transformation creates risks that are harder to fix down the line.
This business successfully navigated financial restructuring, retained key talent, and built a scalable, fit-for-purpose People function that supported its transition to an e-commerce-first model.
