Brands hit trouble when they ‘stop paying attention’, Circulo founder says
Founder and chief executive of repair-focused software company Circulo, Vanessa Jacobs, has said she believes “inattention” was the main factor that led to the collapse of footwear and accessories brand Russell & Bromley.
After almost 150 years, family-run Russell & Bromley went into administration at the start of the year. Retail group Next acquired the brand’s name and three of its stores on January 21.
Administration firm Interpath said it would continue to “explore the options available” for the remaining 33 stores and nine concessions that Russell & Bromley ran, but no further details have emerged so far.
Ms Jacobs first encountered Russell & Bromley when she moved from New York to London in 2008. She bought new shoes from the brand, black patent leather platform heels, when she started a new job at professional services firm Accenture.
With weeks, the platform on one shoe cracked. Unable to find anyone to carry out a repair, she had no option but to throw the shoes away.
After Accenture, Vanessa Jacobs went on to set up The Restory as a specialist repair services partner to high-end brands. In 2024, she and business partner Emily Rea went on to found Circulo, which they describe as a software as a service (SaaS) solutions provider that will enable brands, retailers, repair providers, and repair-focused start-ups to build and manage repair businesses.
On hearing of Russell & Bromley’s insolvency issues, she recalled the black patent leather platform heels and said there had been no mechanism for her to communicate with the footwear company about what had gone wrong with her purchase.
She said the brand had “stopped paying attention” after she bought the shoes and that this was the reason it was unable to build up lifetime value (LTV) with her and others.
