Ann Summers has been a landmark business in Surrey for more than 50 years. And during that time they have used the region as a base to garner international notoriety. Discover more about this landmark Surrey business and the opportunities they have by watching our video.

About Ann Summers

Ann Summers has a global reputation with an annual turnover of more than £100 million – and it’s all forged from a HQ in Surrey.

As chief executive officer Maria Hollins says: “We are known for being trailblazers, for breaking taboos and pushing boundaries. I think we literally are one-of-a-kind.”

The business started out in 1971 as two stores. The Gold family bought it in 1972. Under their leadership it has grown to be an established, iconic British brand.

The company now has 86 stores, a global website, trade with 14 external partners and direct selling business. Its most recent annual turnover was reported to be more than £100 million.

But its head office and warehouse is very local – next to the A22 in Whyteleafe, just north of Caterham.

Working at Ann Summers

“When you speak to people in our business and you ask them why they joined and why they stay with Ann Summers, it is because of our culture.”

As Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, Lauren Simmons knows the reasons why people love working at the business.

With 360 colleagues working at their Whyteleafe HQ there is lots of scope for progression. And many of those who work for the business have been with the company for many years. This is in part down to the culture, its reputation for innovation and the where it is based.

But why did Ann Summers base itself in Surrey back in the early 1970s?

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, says:

“We have been here for more than 50 years. The family were based in Surrey so it kind of made sense for the business to be here.”

Surrey – a great place to do business

So, what are the advantages of a major retail business being anchored in Surrey?

Well, for those at Ann Summers it’s all about location, location, location.

With two international airports, the M25 just minutes away and excellent connections to London and Dover, there’s nowhere better.

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, says: “We always talk about the Midlands for logistics. Well, let me tell you, Surrey is the place to be. It’s kind of that feeling of having everything London has, but with additional benefits.”

“We’ve got great transport links. We’re very close to the M25, pretty close to some of the ports and obviously we bring in a lot of product inbound from overseas.”

Tens of thousands of people see the building every day thanks to its position next to the A22.

Lauren Simmons, Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, says: “We’ve almost become a bit of a landmark actually. The roundabout that is right by our office is now known as the Ann Summers roundabout, which we’re really proud of.”

View the latest available jobs at the Ann Summers careers pages.

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Rita Botanicals is a business in Guildford which sells plants, pots and house gardening services. Here’s how a free Multiply course helped make that happen.

When Rita gave up her job in a creative agency for health reasons, she knew she wanted to do something different next. She wanted to help people in some way. And make use of the love and knowledge of plants she learned from her grandmother, also named Rita.

Rita landed on the idea to open a plant shop with a difference – one with a strong community ethos and emphasis on mental health.

“I just envisioned a place where it would be more of a community-based business. I wanted to not just have a plant shop, my goal was to create a space for people to feel more themselves.”

However, she wasn’t sure how to get started. She felt lacking in investment funds and business knowledge, and crucially, was also lacking in confidence about her numeracy skills.

And that’s where Rita discovered Multiply.

Funded by government, Multiply courses were created to help adults without Maths GCSE to improve their maths skills and number confidence.

Rita was able to take a Multiply course on ‘How to start your own business without money’ run by The Rebel Business School (a Multiply provider for Surrey County Council).

It didn’t cost her anything. And it boosted her number confidence from 1 out of 5 before the course, to a score of 4 out of 5 on completion.

Importantly the course helped her to understand tax, VAT, and the basics of setting up and running a small business. It meant she felt confident to make the leap and start her own. She says,

“In terms of numeracy, [the course] really boosted my knowledge. And then I got the confidence when I got through it.”

Starting a business: Rita Botanicals

Following the Multiply course, although Rita still didn’t have any funds to invest in starting a business. So she took the resilience and adaptability skills she’d learned on the course. And applied to a business competition to win a pop-up-shop premises in Guildford.

“I didn’t have a lot of things to help me to go where I wanted, but [the course] pushed me to find alternative routes. They taught me skills of dig deep, keep looking, just keep going, it will happen, you’ve just got to keep searching, it might take longer but you’ll get there. And how to barter, how to get things.”

Rita won the pop-up premises. And her plant shop, Rita Botanicals now has a permanent home in Guildford’s White Lion Walk. All thanks to that initial Multiply course she took.

And has Rita fulfilled her dream of running a business that is also a place for the community? She says:

“It’s like this bridge between generations and a common interest, which is really nice to see. And also a lot of people get educated on nature again, because they don’t have the means to get out and about.  Whatever they’re going through it encourages them to bring it home.

“And I think that really helps a lot of people with their anxieties as well. I have a lot of people with depression that come through and I see how much they feel more at ease in the shop and I love that. So it’s not just a business it’s more of a place as well.”

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