Laura Battley

New Look

New Look GC Laura Battley began dealing with issues arising from Covid-19 before it pushed the country into turmoil. In January 2020, Battley, who is also responsible for business continuity and incident management, faced supply chain and contract issues with products stuck on the water coming in from China. The question rapidly moved from “what if we have to close a store?” to “how do we close all of our stores?”

When lockdown was imposed, Battley had to work at staggering speed to ensure the retailer’s distribution centre and online operation could continue to function, review insurance policies, and navigate government guidance around social distancing, furlough and financial support.

The challenges were twofold: as well as Covid-19, New Look underwent its second restructuring in as many years, with Battley coordinating the electronic signing of a huge volume of documents. In a watershed moment on the ailing high street, the retailer agreed a turnover-linked rent model with its landlords, securing the future of 459 stores and saving around 10,500 jobs.

For Battley, 2020 was as demanding as it gets. There have not been many happy tales to tell in retail – thanks to Battley and her still-lean legal team, New Look is one of them.