No.1 for Interviews - Michelle Mone
Michelle Mone

The First Lady of lingerie talks exclusively to No.1 Magazine on the media, how she became a millionairess and why in her opinion, marriage should be for life

Michelle Mone was recently listed as one of the top three entrepreneurs in the UK, in just over a decade she has built up a multi million pound company from scratch. In 2001, Prince Charles asked her personally to sit on the Board of Directors for the Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust and last year Ultimo became the first ever UK lingerie company to show at New York Fashion Week... Not bad for someone who grew up in the Gallowgate in Glasgow, left school at 15 and has brought up three kids in tandem with growing her company. No.1 catches up with the very candid first lady of lingerie to talk about celebs, running a business and why marriage is for life.

On leaving school Michelle found full-time employment at Lebatt’s Brewery as an office junior to support her family, after illness confined her father to a wheelchair. By the age of 20 she was a manager running the sales and marketing team.

It was while attending a dinner dance in 1996 with her husband, that Michelle came up with her brainchild. “I was wearing a really uncomfy bra so I decided to invent something that was more attractive, and cleavage enhancing.” At the end of 1996, Michelle set up MJM International. “My dream was to make one bra and now we have 4,000 styles.”

Michelle, 37, has developed several other brands under the Ultimo name such as Ultimo Shapewear and Ultimo Black label, she also has partnering lines with both Asda and Debenhams.

Renowned for her high profile media campaigns, Michelle has worked with A-list celebrities including Rachel Hunter and Mel B. She was famously slated by Rod Stewart for dropping his current wife Penny Lancaster as the face of Ultimo and replacing her with his ex, Rachel Hunter. Mone insisted it was just business and that the relationship with Penny had run its course, but conceded ‘it was the PR coup of the century’ when the media coverage went global.

Michelle famously refused to move her head office to London and continues to run it from its East Kilbride base. She lives on the outskirts of Glasgow with her children and her husband Michael.

How do you feel about the country’s current financial situation?
We have never seen anything like it. It is a really difficult time, but I feel we are at a stage where we need to work at building confidence in the economy  instead of being surrounded by doom and gloom.

I think politicians and the media should acknowledge that yes, times are difficult but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you listen to all of the things that are in the press just now you won’t have the confidence to do anything, let alone buy a house or car.
I had said something similar during an interview with BBC Radio recently and a guy called in and asked how could I say all these things about thinking positively when people, including him, were losing their jobs?

I told him I was made redundant 13 years ago and if I hadn’t been I wouldn’t have started my own business. So dry your eyes, pick yourself up, dust yourself down and decide what you are going to do with your life.

Has the current economic climate affected you in any way?
We are in a lucky position in that it hasn’t really affected us. Touch wood! We have carried on growing and are continually opening more shops. We haven’t changed our strategy in any way.

In fact we are actually launching a new campaign which will kick off in May called Miss Ultimo.

What is your opinion of the media?
I am always grateful to the media as without them the business wouldn’t be where it is today. I really am grateful to the Scottish press, they launched our business as far as I am concerned.

Do you ever feel like you have been burned or victimised by the press?
The media has built me up and slaughtered me over the years, but just now we are on an even keel. You have to take the good and bad. Contrary to what people think I don’t chase interviews – I am selective about what we do. I have been offered deals to do features on my new home and with my family. I do what I do with the media for the benefit of the business but my family and my home life is private.

You are well known to have used celebrity endorsement to increase your brand awareness – how does that come about?
The business and the brand are at a stage now where often it is the celebrity that approaches us. An Ultimo campaign can really put them back in the public eye. Take Mel B, she is one of the most famous women in the world but the Ultimo campaign has helped put her back on top – she has a  successful fitness DVD out now and is doing better than ever.

What normally happens is we will get a call from their representative. I will meet go and meet the celebrity for a lunch or dinner and if I get on with them we will move it on to the next stage. If they are rude it goes nowhere. I met a famous model to talk about an Ultimo campaign. She spent an hour on the phone at lunch, so I left! It was very rude; people like that have no respect. I have to be able to get on with them if we are going to work alongside each other.

Have you enjoyed working with anyone in particular?
Sarah Harding and Mel B are cracking girls; really good fun and down to earth. Mel B will text me at night saying, ‘How’s the weather, Scottish? I am lying by the pool!’ And Sarah Harding is brilliant she is just one of the girls. But Rachel Hunter is amazing, she is a really awesome woman, we had so much fun.

For me it is really important that the women we choose are relatable to normal women as they are not just a nice figure that the product looks great on – they are an ambassador for Ultimo. I think people like the girls we chose to represent the brand because they feel they can relate to them, whether it’s because they are a mother or one of the girls.
I am not opposed to using real women in our brochures, we are at a stage where our brand is big enough that we can make a name. Maybe that’s what we will do this year! Because at the end of day it’s normal women who buy it. We may do a brochure with a mixture of real women and celebs.

The celebs you use to model your Ultimo D - G cup range have implants, was that a conscious decision?
Preferably I would love to use people that have a natural G cup. But it can be very difficult to find the personality, look, profile and figure as well as big boobs. Obviously we did the Real Women campaign with Colleen Rooney to find real size models.
That said I am not against implants, and our products are suitable for women with or without. Even if women have implants they still need a good bra. It’s a common misconception that Ultimo is only about gel enhanced bras but that is actually only one of the eight inventions we do.

You are a hardworking mother – do you have strong opinions on women who choose not to work?
I was always taught, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. I don’t judge anyone: If someone wants to stay at home – fantastic! If someone wants to go out to work – fantastic. My oldest was four years old when I launched the company and it was the right thing for me to be out at work. My youngest was born in the middle of us launching the brand so I went back to work four days after giving birth, but it was the launch of the brand - I had to. It is really about whatever’s right for you and your family. We should try and support each other, that is one of the reasons I enjoy sitting on the Board of the Princes Trust. It is fantastic to help others and to see them make a success.

You are originally from the east end of Glasgow?
I was born in the Gallowgate originally, there is some really fantastic people in the east end of Glasgow. Nobody makes chips as good as they do in the east end! And it has the best ice cream – I still drive to Coia’s Café in Duke Street to get it!

What is a normal day for you?
I make sure I get home to spend time with the kids, my youngest is in first year so I will do homework etc, I think that is really important. Once they have gone to bed I may end up working again – our office in Hong Kong opens at midnight and once you go on the phone for five minutes that ends up being you talking for two hours! I sleep about four hours a night. I am one of those people that never really sleeps, I am always thinking about the next thing that needs to be done. I think one day I will go to sleep and have a long, long sleep – which means I am dead!

Do you ever think you will sell the business?
Never! My target originally was to sell it, I wanted to be a millionaire but when you reach that point it becomes irrelevant. It might sound spoiled but it becomes less about the money and more about what it is you have built up. If I sold it I would be utterly devastated. We have come back from the brink – six years ago we had a distributor who ran away with a million pounds. We were within 15 minutes of losing it all when we were bank rescued.
The company is worth a lot of money at the moment and we own eight brands now like Michelle for George and Adore Moi but there is lots still to be done – I haven’t launched Ultimo for men, Ultimo fragrance... What would I do with myself? I wouldn’t go on anymore holidays because I go enough. I wouldn’t buy anymore flash cars because I am happy with what I have got.

What is your biggest challenge in a professional capacity?
Finding time to do everything. And trying to make sure we have time for all our staff, we identify who is struggling and who needs support. We encourage everyone to work smarter and make sure what they do contributes positively to the business as opposed to working on pointless tasks. I say to our staff, ‘It’s fine to make mistakes but learn from it. If you make the same mistake twice you need to look at yourself.’


Can you tell us anything about taking party in the celebrity version of The Apprentice for Comic Relief?
I can say it was very hard work and so much fun. It is on for a week in March. I am asked to do quite a few reality shows and I don’t normally do so, but I absolutely love The Apprentice, I would definitely say it was a real challenge. Although it was really odd to sit at the other side of the board room being told what to do, surreal! I admit I didn’t really like that but I have a lot of respect for Sir Alan.

How do you relax?
It’s simple, I don’t – never! I am constantly thinking what needs to be done! When you are away from the office the house needs you, the family needs you. We shut our Glasgow office for a week and a half at Christmas and I was bored! I loved having time with family but after you load the dishwasher 40 times a   day and watch so many movies and played so many games you do start getting bored. I don’t get to see my friends as much as I would like, so I make sure I catch up with everyone over the festive period. It’s all about friends and family.

How do you keep in shape?
I was six and half stone heavier a few years ago – it affected every aspect of my life, from how I felt about the way I looked to the relationship with my husband. Although I was still confident in business I didn’t feel it inside. I ended up losing the weight in the space of a year through TrimSecrets, my collaboration with Jan De Vries.

I don’t exercise, but I have been thinking that I do need to get fit! The amount of walking I do between airport terminals keeps me fit! I am on six to eight flights a week so more often than not I am running between terminals to catch a connecting flight, honestly Amsterdam is the worst for it – it’s miles!

What three words would you use to describe yourself?
My husband would say I was a pain in the arse! (Laughs) Honestly he would! Well I would say that I am trustworthy I will go to great lengths to make sure I never let my friends or family down.

If I think about it I’m probably quite generous too. I think if you have money you should use it to try and help people. I was listening to Radio Clyde one morning, I was in the kitchen at home in Glasgow making breakfast and they were talking about a girl who had a snowboarding accident and ended up in a French hospital in a coma. There was a problem with her insurance and her Glaswegian family couldn’t afford to fly her home a she needed an air ambulance. My husband turned and said to me, “Want to do something good today Shel?” And I said, “What fly her home?” We arranged for an air ambulance to fly over and bring her home to her mum and dad. When you compare buying a pair of shoes to doing that for a family it is incomparable – it was really moving.

Third thing! I would like to think I am clear and firm if anyone oversteps the line and tries to take advantage I won’t let them away with it. Not in a threatening or aggressive way but I won’t stand for dishonesty. My family brought me up to never be dishonest. What goes around comes around as far as I am concerned – I can’t stand people who are out for themselves.

You work with your husband and obviously live together too, what is the secret of a happy marriage?
Well we have been married for 17 years and have been together for 19 years in total. It honestly seems like yesterday! Like any other couple we have had our troubles but you can’t think that it would necessarily be much better somewhere else. The grass isn’t always greener! I think the key to a strong marriage is you have to be prepared to take the good with the bad.

Don’t get me wrong if he is a swine of a man and beats you up then of course you should leave! But if not then maybe you are just having your issues and you should remember that it is quite likely that you will have your issues with someone else. Michael and I don’t go out much because its work, work, work so we have started going out for dinner after work! You need to remember you have to spend time together. Because at the end of the day your family is what is most important.

Ultimo is available from Debenhams nationwide and www.ultimo.co.uk

Back to Interview Home Page

 

Copyright © 2006 - 2011 PSP Publishing Ltd Registered Office: PSP House, 50 High Craighall Road Glasgow G4 9UD Registered in Scotland No. 158316
Tel: 0141 353 2222 - Fax: 0141 332 3839 Email: sales@psp.uk.net Call may be monitored or recorded for training purposes