Peter Ruis

Only 18 months into the job, Peter Ruis has been using his previous experience of unique store design as CEO of Jigsaw to lead a “local store” strategy for Anthropologie in the UK, moving towards smaller, bijou retail experiences.

This kicked off in April 2019 with the opening of a 2,898 sq ft shop in Tunbridge Wells. The retailer has since rolled this format out to a further five new stores across the UK. Ruis plans to more than double Anthropologie’s UK store count from 11 to between 20 and 25 by the end of 2020, and to double the European portfolio of 13 stores.

On the sustainability front he launched a collaboration in July with clothing re-use charity Traid. The two-week pop-up in Anthropologie’s King’s Road store in London sold a selection of second-hand and vintage womenswear picked from Traid’s warehouse by Anthropologie’s team. There are now Traid donation banks in six of its stores.