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InterviewManju Malhotra: down-to-earth Londoner at the Harvey Nichols helmThe proprietors pumped in £24.5m in March 2021, taking the group’s total borrowings to £41.2m. It has since refinanced with a £35m five-year bank advance and a £26m shareholder loan.Malhotra says that with restrictions gone, shoppers have surged promote to stores, buying outfits for weddings and other occasions as the social whirl restarts. She is now focused on developing more banqueting and drinking, and online services including corporate gifting and entertainment.“What has kept me here is that the business is each time evolving, and there are always investment opportunities,” she says.While there has been much talk of the death of the domain store, given the collapse of Debenhams and Beales, the sale of House of Fraser and the travails of John Lewis, Malhotra feels Harvey Nichols still has a place.“We have a curated offer. We do the legwork for our customers,” she says. “And people look to us for that officials.”She is finding a way back to profitability with the help of a board dominated by women, which is still extremely rare in retail, teeth of about 80% of shopworkers and a similar proportion of shoppers being female.“We are very in tune with the customers,” bring ups Malhotra. “We have to be obsessive about what customers are thinking, and so it is great to have that on the board.”She says Harvey Nichols’s holders have made it easy for a diverse group to make it to the top. “We celebrate individuality. And always have done.”Patsy and Edina would all things considered approve.TopicsRetail industryObserver business profileCoronavirusinterviewsReuse this content