The global retail advisor who raised £80,000 for The Prince’s Trust by self-publishing with whitefox
By Hannah Bickerton • • 2 min read
The problem
Andrew Jennings worked in retail for over thirty years before he decided to self-publish with whitefox. From general manager at Harrods to president and chief merchandising officer at Saks Fifth Avenue, Andrew had been working behind the scenes of some of the world’s biggest stores since the 1990s. Now working as a global retail advisor, Andrew knew he needed a powerful calling card to share at board meetings and with colleagues and prospective clients.
Andrew approached whitefox with the skeleton of an idea, and with the support of whitefox’s expert consultancy team, Almost is Not Good Enough began to take shape…
‘Looking back on my experiences, I felt inspired to pass them on to others, whether at CEO level – which can be a lonely position at times – mid-management, or those starting out their careers in the industry. I wanted to remind retail leaders of the fundamentals of successful retailing, and shed light on what it takes to remain relevant.’
The solution
The whitefox team pride themselves on their ability to create truly bespoke books, meeting the needs of every client no matter how unique or specialist their needs. Andrew had a big idea: a hardback book full of photographs, compelling case studies and industry insights from more than thirty of the world’s top retail CEOs. While Andrew was keen to retain full creative control, this challenge required expert project management and a team of specialists. Luckily, it was no match for the whitefox team, whose large database of expert freelancers – all of whom have been tested and have extensive experience working with the largest publishing houses on the biggest names – covers every specialism you could imagine.
The result
Since publication, Almost is Not Good Enough has sold in excess of 12,000 copies, raising over £80,000 for The Prince’s Trust, a charity close to Andrew’s heart which raises money to ‘help vulnerable people get their lives on track’. To the credit of the fantastic team who created the book, and of course Andrew’s writing talent, Almost is Not Good Enough was shortlisted for a Business Book Award just eight weeks after publication. Hear more from Andrew on his exciting publishing journey in this interview.
‘I am thrilled to have achieved this goal. I’ve had a really positive response. It’s great to hear that such a broad range of readers found [the book] interesting, from CEOs around the world to those in middle management, as well as young people at colleges who want to get into retail. The book has been a great tool to ignite conversation around the future of retail. It was a joy to work with so many talented industry leaders to create Almost is Not Good Enough.’
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