Conversation with… Paul Hornby
In this latest interview in our Conversations series, we chat with Paul Hornby whose impressive career has included roles such as Digital Customer Experience Director at The Very Group, Director of Ecommerce at Matalan, and Head of Digital Transformation at Shop Direct.
Paul will be speaking at The Retail Bulletin’s Retail Ecom North conference in Manchester on 5 February as part of the panel discussing the use of technology to simplify and optimise online ecommerce operations.
You began your retail career at Shop Direct, which is now the Very Group. How did that come about?
It’s probably easiest to answer by going back a step. I studied Computer Science at university, which was a bit of a gamble – I hadn’t done IT at GCSE or A-level. But I was intrigued by the internet, which was just starting to take off, and I wanted to explore it further.
Never Miss a Retail Update!In the third year of my course, we had a module in ecommerce taught by Peter McBurney, someone with industry experience. I loved the mix of art and science in subject – thinking about customers, creating experiences for them, and combining creativity with technology. That’s what drew me in.
After university, I started building websites for small businesses. My first job was at a school where I did general IT work and managed their website. I loved the web aspect but didn’t enjoy the broader IT tasks, which clarified my path. I knew I wanted to work specifically in ecommerce.
Eventually, I came across Shop Direct. I didn’t know much about the organisation at the time, but after interviewing, I felt it was exactly what I needed. I joined in March 2006.
How big was the ecommerce team when you joined?
The team I joined had around a dozen people, but the story was more complex. At that time, Shop Direct was two businesses: GUS Home Shopping, based in Manchester, and Littlewoods, based in Liverpool.
GUS Home Shopping was a catalogue and bricks-and-mortar business with brands like Great Universal and Additions. Littlewoods had similar catalogue-based operations. Both businesses had just been acquired by the Barclay Brothers and were in the process of merging.
When I joined, I started in Manchester. Within three months, the businesses consolidated to one head office in Liverpool. That process saw a lot of people leave, and by the time the dust settled, the ecommerce team was quite small – less than ten people, not counting the separate IT function that supported us.
Your learning curve must have been incredible, especially as ecommerce was growing so quickly at the time.
Absolutely. The timing was perfect for me. I joined during a period of massive transformation as the business shifted from catalogues and physical stores to online channels. Our CEO, Mark Newton-Jones, had a strategy he called “70-2010,” which aimed for 70% of the business to come through online channels by 2010.
At the time, we were far from that goal, so there was a big focus on building the online proposition – investing in technology, maturing our systems, and improving digital marketing. It was a great learning opportunity.
You progressed quickly through the organisation, becoming Head of Digital and eventually moving to Matalan. How did that happen?
At Shop Direct, I was fortunate to progress rapidly. By 25, I was managing teams and became Head of Content and iDevelopment at 27. This role focused on front-end development, overseeing two teams: one managing marketing content and another focused on front-end engineering. By 29, I became Head of Ecommerce, taking on more commercial responsibilities.
I also had opportunities for broader learning, like attending the London Business School to study market-driving strategies. We analysed businesses like Nespresso and explored innovations like mobile banking in Africa. It was fascinating and helped me understand business transformation on a deeper level.
This led to a transformation role at Shop Direct, where I worked on organisational design and technology alignment. It was both exciting and challenging, but I realised I wanted to be in a position where I could apply my knowledge directly, rather than acting as a consultant.
When the opportunity to join Matalan as eCommerce Director came up, it felt like the right fit. I was 34 and ready to take on a broader role and drive real change.
Matalan must have been another significant chapter. Tell us more about that.
I loved it. It was amazing. It was a big step. I look back at my time there – I haven’t done an MBA. I was lucky enough to go to London Business School, but not for a full MBA.
But I look at my time at Matalan as my MBA. I spent three years there, and it felt like I was thrown in at the deep end. My team covered digital marketing, copywriting, trade, insight, and analytics. We created a product management team, grew the UX Team and built a UX Lab. I took full responsibility for the online P&L.
So, at 34, you’re a young man. That’s the time when most of us are settling down, having families, and all of that. How did you balance such a fast-moving, demanding career with your home life?
I’ve got two children aged 7 and 5. My wife and I had my daughter just before I left Shop Direct. She was born in June 2017, and I started with Matalan in March 2018. So, she was about nine months old at the time.
That must have been good but tough in some ways.
Definitely. My wife was massively supportive. She had carved out a really successful career in tax, working for Grant Thornton, a relatively big accountancy firm. She became chartered at 25.
But to be honest, she wasn’t loving it. We had a candid conversation about what was best for our family and how we could manage everything. My role was obviously demanding, and I needed to give it 100%. So, we talked about what a new setup could look like, one that would work for all of us.
My wife was really keen to do something different. She said, “If I could do anything in the world right now, I’d walk dogs and write books.”
Fast forward, she ended up working for a friend of mine who has a great dog-walking business, and she wrote two kids’ books, which we self-published on Amazon. That created the freedom for me to focus on my job.
I spent three years at Matalan, loved it, and navigated the challenges of COVID. Now, both kids are in school, my wife is back working in tax three days a week, and she signed a publishing deal last year for a novel. Her first novel comes out this summer.
But despite the challenges, you made the right decisions for your family and career.
Yes, I loved my job, but the priority was always making sure everything was right at home, and my wife and I managed that.
My son was born towards the end of my time at Matalan. The people there were amazing. I still keep in touch with many of them and hold the business in a special place in my heart. But eventually, I decided it was time to move on.
During that period, The Very Group reached out multiple times about opportunities. I had left Shop Direct on good terms, and they wanted me back for some initiatives they thought I was well-suited to. I politely declined at first because I was enjoying myself at Matalan.
When I decided to leave Matalan, I explored a few opportunities, many of which involved a lot of travel. That wasn’t ideal as we had just had our son. Very was close to home, but more importantly, their board had signed off on a multi-year transformation project to overhaul their eCommerce technology.
It was exciting – transforming a £2.2 billion pure-play business and moving to a modern composable architecture. They needed someone commercial and technical to set the vision, choose the right partners, build the team, and lead the programme.
That must have been a fantastic opportunity.
It really was. I promised myself I’d only stay for three years, but it’s been four and I’ve just left. I had a brilliant few years there – it was very fast-paced and exciting. As a pure-play business, its DNA is all about trading at speed. It was a fantastic place to work and drive strategy forward.
How closely were you watching other retailers? How did you gather knowledge in such a competitive and creative space?
We used to talk about this a lot as a team at Very, which is a multi-category business. Teams in specific categories would analyse best-in-class competitors.
For instance, the beauty team would check Sephora and Beauty Pie, while the sportswear team might study Nike and Adidas. Homeware might focus on John Lewis and Made.com. It was about understanding trends in specialised categories.
But I always emphasised to my team that while benchmarking is useful, we must focus on our customer. If we just obsess over others, we’ll only ever match them, and probably lag behind since they’ll always be one step ahead. The key was balancing awareness of market trends with clarity on who our customer is, what they need, and how we can innovate to meet those needs.
That’s a great perspective. So, what’s next for ecommerce? The landscape is evolving so rapidly.
Ecommerce will continue growing, especially on mobile. Payment options will diversify further with flexible options like “buy now, pay later” and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
But what fascinates me most is the idea of “funnel collapse.” Historically, the online customer journey – awareness, consideration, purchase -has been linear. But now, with social commerce, it can all happen in one interaction. For example, on TikTok or Instagram, you can discover a brand, explore products, and buy them without ever leaving the platform.
This changes the game. Retailers essentially become a suite of APIs, serving product catalogues and price data to third-party platforms. Social commerce, voice commerce through devices like Alexa, and other innovations will make this funnel collapse more common.
But with these changes, isn’t there more complexity and security concerns?
Definitely. The trend towards “composable commerce” means businesses are moving away from monolithic systems to smaller, more specialised tech components. This gives flexibility but adds complexity – more data to manage securely and a more intricate digital supply chain.
It’s like a puzzle: retailers need the right pieces to serve their customers while ensuring seamless, secure data flow between those pieces.
Speaking of evolving technology, do you ever worry about keeping up with younger generations entering the field?
(Laughs) Great question. Yes, there are generational differences. My five-year-old, for example, has never seen a screen he can’t interact with by touch. When he encountered a non-touchscreen TV, he was baffled!
This new generation is incredibly digitally savvy. They don’t watch linear TV; they consume content on YouTube and social media. Sustainability also matters more to them – they care deeply about recycled products and the green agenda, which will influence their buying behaviours.
Their digital habits will also shift retail norms. For them, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and whatever comes next are their primary spaces. Retailers need to adapt to meet these customers where they are. Websites as we know them might not hold the same relevance for these future consumers.
That’s a thought-provoking look ahead.
It is, and it’s why staying customer-focused is more important than ever. While technology evolves, the essence of retail remains the same – understanding what your customers need and delivering it in the best way possible.
It’s a fast-moving space, and yet, it feels like we move at a slower pace in terms of how we adapt.
I completely agree with you. While the digital world is rapidly evolving, there’s still a lot of legacy behaviour that we aren’t going to shed overnight. People still enjoy the tangible, physical experience – whether it’s shopping for groceries or trying on shoes. I think what we’re seeing now is an intersection of the digital and physical worlds. Both will likely continue to exist alongside each other, even if certain digital ecosystems begin to dominate more of the transaction space.
Changing the subject, we noticed on LinkedIn that one of your passions is building and mentoring teams. Can you tell us more about that?
Mentoring is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job. I’m someone who deeply believes in surrounding myself with people who are better than I am at what they do and creating an environment where they can thrive. Leadership isn’t about being the best at everything – it’s about enabling others to do their best. It’s about understanding what motivates people, what makes them tick, and how I can help them fulfil their potential. That could mean helping someone become more confident or supporting their development in ways beyond just promotions. I’m all about helping people grow and see the best version of themselves.
It’s great to hear how much you invest in people. But who would you say has been an inspiring mentor to you?
Without a doubt, it’s Greg Pateras. I had the privilege of working with him at both Shop Direct and Matalan. He’s from Liverpool, and he’s achieved a lot in his career. Seeing someone from my background reach such heights was incredibly inspiring. Not only is Greg highly intelligent, but he has a unique ability to articulate complex concepts in a way that’s approachable. I learned a lot from him, particularly how to communicate authentically and lead with integrity. We still stay in touch, and I continue to learn from him.
Lastly, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I’d tell myself to chill out a bit. I’ve always been very ambitious, and that came with a lot of energy. But as time goes on, you learn that energy needs to be focused and applied in the right places.
But the biggest advice would be to stay true to yourself. There’s a lot of pressure to fit into moulds, especially early in your career. I didn’t come from a traditional business background, and it was hard to find examples of people who shared my background. But I realised that by being myself, I’d make a bigger impact. So, I’d tell my younger self to trust in that authenticity – it will make life much easier in the long run.
Join us at Retail Ecom North in Manchester on 5 February. Find out more and secure free places here
