Despite the sensitive nature of its industry, customers at Ann Summers were supportive of staff wearing bodycams in their trial, chief executive Maria Hollins has said.

Speaking at the Retail Technology Show in London yesterday, Hollins told the audience how the lingerie and adult toy company was committed to dealing with the abuse its staff faced, which she said was worse than for many other retailers.

“Some of our team are seen as easy targets because of what we sell,” she said. She added that stores no longer publicise their numbers online due to many receiving multiple harassing phone calls a week.

The company also offers deescalation training, Hollins said, and that it emphasises knowing when to walk away in order to keep staff safe.
One way Ann Summers is trying to keep employees safe is with body-worn cameras, which it trialled in three stores around the UK earlier this year. The results were promising, showing a 42 per cent reduction in staff incidents.

Prior to their introduction, there was a lot of debate internally about customer reactions, Hollins said, and there were concerns they would make customers feel less safe discussing intimate requests with staff. In practice, “there was actually empathy for our staff from customers” over the abuse they faced, Hollins said.

Company Culture

Ann Summers is smaller than a lot of people think, said Hollins. The brand only has a turnover of around £100 million annually, with 69 stores across the UK. While the company is unable to offer the most competitive rates of pay, Hollins believes staff are attracted to the company through its culture.

She told the audience that Ann Summers’s customer service and ESG managers both began in warehouse roles. The company is also explicitly welcoming to minority groups, and 30 per cent of its staff identify as LGBT+ compared to a retail average of around five per cent, according to UK census data.

27 per cent of employees describe themselves as having a mental or physical disability, and managers are trained to discuss mental health issues with their staff, Hollins added.

The company also has dedicated forums for minority groups that guide the company’s business practices, she said.

Search engine issues

Despite selling many “quite normal” products, Ann Summers has been classified as an adult retailer by search engine Google. Hollins explained that this means if safe search is on, Google will not link Ann Summers products from its website. However, Google will link from licensed resellers such as Boots or Superdrug.

While Hollins acknowledged the importance of keeping children safe online, she questioned why Google does not us AI to determine which of Ann Summers’s products are unsuitable for minors.

Hollins added that this means Ann Summers has to be inventive on how it brings in new customers, including increasing brand awareness via its subsidiary Knickerbox, which does not sell adult toys and therefore is not subject to the same restrictions.

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