My Journey at Trek and Why I am So Grateful For The Opportunity
- hannahdowns90
- Oct 10, 2024
- 3 min read
My journey at Trek began in 2018 - I took on this role with a huge sense of imposter syndrome. However, i quickly understood that this role was only ever going to be good for me.
I am so excited to share with you why I loved this role and what its done for me as a person....
In my first 6 months I was a rabbit in the headlights, but i just put my absolute everything into it.
The biggest shift for me was going from retailing where people knew about retailing, to retailing where people knew everything about the product. I was the opposite. I knew retailing, but knew nothing of the product.
"Build The Team and Everything Else Will Fall Into Place"
After a few months of trying really hard to manage 12 stores on my own in various countries, it was time to recruit.
A smart man who ran the retail business at the time said 'Hire Someone Whos Better Than You'.
ENTER ANDREW
Fresh out of a bike shop but with TONNES of retail knowledge, Andrew quickly became 'my right arm', if i didnt know something, he knew the answer and vise versa. Sometimes colleagues come into your life and you know they wont ever not be around. Andrew moved to Spain to support our spanish, german and french stores.
With more store openings on the horizon we had to continue building the team. Remembering the above advice I started recruiting again.....
ENTER ELLIE
With a quick wit and sharp brain, Ellie joined us to help look after our UK Visual business. Everybody adored (and still does) Ellie. Her quick sense of humour made her easy to get along with in stores, and her retail background pushed her to be an integral part of my team.
AND THE OTHERS
I was lucky enough to hire more rockstars, building my team from 2 to 6 pretty quickly. Europe wide, i did my best to find great energy and synergy. I had never had the joy of handpicking a team and moving stores forward.
Our feet barely touched the ground for about 2 years. We went from 12 stores to 62 in less than 4 years.
"Do it For a Year - See What Happens"
This was the mantra i took when I came into this role.
It was SO different to anything i'd done before.
Travel, multiple languages, head office based, 5 days a week, no weekends, concepting, design was all new to me!
Before i knew it had been 5 years with no regrets
The People, The People, The People
Without a doubt the greatest thing about my time at Trek was the people.
I cannot express how lucky i was to be in the team i was in.
Katy
"Find someone you would go to war with"
Katy came in 6 months after me at Trek and by the end of this time she had become my manager. Honestly, nothing has ever bought me so much joy in my working life than having Katy around. She was the most influencial woman i have worked with, a great leader, coach and mentor. I am so lucky to call her my friend. Her honesty and big heart have never steered us wrong!
The Others
The list of ways i could tell you my life has been made better by the people i worked with at Trek is long. I have been lucky enough to make amazing friends that made me laugh, made me a better leader and bought me kindness.
If i have even 10% of the personality traits i got to work with at Trek, i'd be incredibly happy.
So Many Projects!
The sheer huge number of projects that happened during my journey at Trek is astounding. I learnt how to work on multiple things at different times, work with different vendors, different teams, project manage, and get the day job done.
Store openings, refurbs, refreshes, campaign launches, visual directives, roll outs - all happening simultaneously as well as making sure the basic retail standards are maintained.
Travel
I'd never travelled a huge amount before i took my role at Trek.
I have seen so much of Europe and the world as a result of my time at Trek.
LET ME BE CLEAR - work travel is great but it is not glamorous, hotels are fun until the 5th night, restaurants are nice until you just want to eat lasagne on your sofa with your family.
HOWEVER - would i have been to The Netherlands had i not taken this job? maybe not. Would i have spent evenings in Madrid drinking with colleagues into the night? Definitely not. It was FANTASTIC but it is not forever for everyone. SO LUCKY.
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