Julie Jones
Julie Jones
Hospice Shops Manager 2002-2008
With sadness, we have to announce that Julie Jones, after six years as Share the Care (STC) Manager, is left us in June to take up a new challenge. Julie joined STC in 2002, responsible for running the six Hospice Shops and furniture salerooms. We welcomed her publicly, via the Hospice website, and here we thank her publicly, via the Hospice Shops website, for all she has done in her six years and acknowledge her long list of achievements. But first, a little about Julie.
She was born in Cardiff South Wales and has been married to husband Paul for nineteen years. They have two children, Daniel age eighteen, and Ryan aged thirteen. Before moving to the Island they lived in Merthyr Tydfil South Wales, about thirty miles outside Cardiff, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. They lived there for six years but Paul, hailing from Liverpool, couldn't pick up the Welsh dialect! Both their sons were born in Merthyr Tydfil, though Ryan was only 18 months when they moved and, unlike his brother, does not remember much about Wales. Julie and Paul and family came to the Island twelve years ago.
Hospice Shop in Bucks Road, Douglas,
offices are on the second floor
Prior to Hospice Shops, Julie worked for Next, and prior to that for the Red Cross. At Next she was Menswear Floor Manager responsible for staff, stock, promoting sales and ensuring customer satisfaction. At the Red Cross her work was slightly more varied. She was responsible for all the aspects of running the shops and for the promotion of Red Cross through organising events. One of these events was a fashion show; she first had to find the clothes to be modelled. This was easier than the next stage; finding the models! Help was much closer at hand than she thought when her husband and two boys were “volunteered” to model along with a mixture of volunteers and friends.
Julie joined STC as she wanted a more challenging role. She felt it would be rewarding and she'd enjoy contributing to the work of Hospice Isle of Man using her retail experience. She's certainly lived up to her own expectations.
Working from her office above the Bucks Road shop, she took over running the shops in Douglas, Onchan, Ramsey, Peel, Port Erin and Castletown. At the end of her first year, trading profit was £251,000, but by the end of 2007 it had risen to £458,000, an increase of 83%, and now sights are set on an annual £500,000 contribution to patient care. How was it done? Apart from long hours and very hard work, Julie worked with, and alongside all the Shop Managers, recruiting more Volunteers and, where possible, encouraged an increase in shop opening hours. Julie treated everyone, at every level, with dignity and respect and was always on hand to help sort out the many hundreds of problems; her quiet, patient, fair, never dictatorial but determined way ensuring the affection and respect of everyone.
Julie Jones with a group of Volunteers
at the 2007 Nobles Flog-it day
Julie regularly reported her plans and activities to STC Directors at their Board Meetings, receiving their backing with finance and planning. Julie commenced a rolling programme of shop improvements and refurbishment, starting with Castletown, in 2002, followed by Douglas, and a move to new premises in Onchan. Ramsey shop has recently reopened after a complete internal makeover with the collective result of a more pleasant environment for customers to shop and Volunteers to work in - and more importantly, the takings rocketed.
Our Allen Street Saturday warehouse sales have always been popular and profitable with Julie taking an active part, supervising and dealing with customers most Saturdays, plus day-to-day organisation of donated furniture van collection. Port Erin shop always had a section devoted to furniture, followed by a separate premises in Waterloo Road, Ramsey and converting the premises next to our Michael Street, Peel shop into a specialist quality furniture outlet.
Julie introduced a string of new income schemes and events: Fashion displays; the increasingly popular Fancy Dress Prop' Shop, shortly opening its own premises in Bucks Road; Flog-it days; Baby Boutique; recycling of anything that's recyclable; and last but not least, our eBay online shop - all turning in extra profit and all funds for Hospice patient care.
Julie will be a difficult act to follow but she leaves behind: a benchmark on how charity shops should be run; a thoroughly professional organisation at every level; a superb Volunteer force of 250(ish); Team Spirit throughout the organisation; good organisation and a strong current of inertia and energy which will carry forward to her successor and be of immense help to her or him.
Our sincere thanks to you Julie and our very best wishes for the future.