Elizabeth Arden Column

Through the Red Door

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Born in 1881, Elizabeth Arden was a woman way ahead of her time. Fascinated by skincare from a young age, she went on to pioneer the international beauty industry with many firsts including travel-sized products and the cult Eight Hour Cream. An ardent suffragette, legendary innovator and tireless entrepreneur, Elizabeth Arden was an early example of the ability of women to achieve success against the odds.

In a male-dominated era, she created a global empire with her famous Red Door Salons. Her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation, quality and excellence remain the soul of the company today. In the spirit of Elizabeth Arden, this column sets out to recognise the women in our industry whose personal and professional stories make them deserving of industry recognition.

Elizabeth Arden

Reklaim Global SVP Revenue – Travel & Hospitality Nadine Heubel

Introduction: With over 25 years’ experience in the retail industry, Nadine Heubel is a well-recognised and much-respected leader and innovator in the travel retail and hospitality sector.

Head of Global Travel Retail for Hugo Boss for over 11 years, she joined Gebr. Heinemann in 2008. Eight years later Nadine became the highest-ranking female executive in the company’s history when she took on the role of CEO at Heinemann Americas. Miami-based, she defined the company’s strategy in North America before joining Newmark in 2022, when she was also named Seatrade Cruise Global's first Retail Ambassador.

Nadine’s latest challenge is with start-up company Reklaim, a global tech platform for the conscious luxury industry.

Nadine describes herself as an innovator and a disruptor. She admits to struggling with imposter syndrome, and her two most important values? Kindness and honesty.

She shares her thoughts with The Moodie Davitt Report’s Colleen Morgan.

Nadine Heubel

Let’s start at the beginning, Nadine. Tell us about your childhood and through to teenage years. What factors influenced the Nadine Heubel of 2023?

I was born in a little village in the countryside in the south of Germany. My parents were both blue collar workers and I grew up in very humble surroundings. We lived in a multi-generation home. My mother worked full-time, which was not very common in Germany in the 1980s, so I spent a lot of time with my grandmother.

She was the kindest and most authentic person and I think that’s why until today two of my most important values are kindness and honesty. I was the first in my family to attend high school, the first to learn a foreign language, the first to graduate from college and the first to live in a foreign country. Being the first has never frightened me. On the contrary, it became part of my life.

Whenever I am the first in something – like the first woman at Gebr. Heinemann to lead a sales division – I don’t think about it and just go for it. I have also always been the ‘different’ one in my family. From a young age, I have loved to travel, explore new cultures and meet people from all over the world. Two weeks ago, we had a big family reunion with my 13 cousins. I realised yet again that the life I live is so different from theirs yet there is a lot of love and acceptance by all of them for who I am.

‘Being OK to be different’ is something which still influences me today. I like to explore new concepts, new ideas, and re-invent myself. If my life stagnates, I get restless. On the flipside, coming from very humble backgrounds and meeting many people in the industry with amazing backgrounds sometimes makes me question if I deserve to belong here.

I would say that I have definitely been struggling with imposter syndrome all my life.

Party time: A young Nadine with her cousin Jan

One top of the world: Nadine enjoying two of her favourite pursuits, hiking and (below) dog sledging in Jackson Hole, Wyoming a week before the world shut down in March 2020

Was there a love of travel and languages from an early age?

Yes. Travel and languages were passions of mine from a very young age. I remember going on a family vacation to Spain when I was 11 and meeting this very nice girl from the UK. We wanted to play together but we just couldn’t communicate with each other.

My parents couldn’t help as they did not speak English neither. That was the moment I decided that I wanted to learn as many languages as possible to be able to communicate with as many people as possible.

I also decided to save all the money I earned from babysitting, tutoring and working in the local grocery store, so I could attend as many school exchanges as possible. I signed up for them all and went to France, the UK and Italy.

“I don’t think in titles, I think in vision for the position and company, opportunities and challenges”

– Nadine Heubel

You joined Hugo Boss in 1996. Was that your first taste of travel retail? What prompted later business management studies in Zurich and then at the University of Maryland? Did you feel a degree was a necessity?

Following the education system in Germany, I spent my first three years at Hugo Boss in a management training programme which was an alternative to the classic bachelor’s degree from a university. My first job after finishing that programme was in travel retail at Hugo Boss, working for the legendary Briac Pinault as an Area Sales Manager for Asia and the Middle East.

After a few years I felt that I wanted a proper bachelor’s degree as well and studied in parallel to my Hugo Boss day job. I really enjoyed the way the programme was structured and went on to also do an MBA. My biggest take away from the MBA studies was to learn how to solve complex problems in a business setting and how to successfully work in a team and leverage the strengths of each team member.

What prompted your move to Gebr. Heinemann in 2008? Did you imagine you would later take on the CEO role of Heinemann Americas and become the highest-ranking female executive in the company’s history?

After working for Hugo Boss for 12 years, I felt it was time to do something else. Gebr. Heinemann had been my client at Hugo Boss for many years and I was very impressed by their people-centric work culture and their ambitious growth plans. It felt like a natural move, and I felt part of the big Heinemann family from the moment I entered the building on my first day.

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine going to Miami and heading up Heinemann Americas. However, I always said that one day I wanted to be involved in the definition and implementation of a company’s strategy.

I don’t think in titles, I think in vision for the position and company, opportunities and challenges. And I believe in manifestation. I set my goals and put them out into the universe. That may sound a little esoteric but has been working well so far.

Nadine with former Gebr. Heinemann COO Kay Spanger

And your role as Seatrade Cruise Global’s first Retail Ambassador – what prompted that, and how important is that voice in the industry?

A close friend of mine, Shannon McKee, has been a Seatrade Cruise Ambassador for many years. She focuses on Shore Excursions and Destination. Shannon introduced me to the Seatrade team, and we started talking about the importance of retail as a revenue driver onboard and that retail as a vertical is not really recognised in any Seatrade activity.

Together we had the vision to put retail on the map in a significant way at the Seatrade events. I am super happy to have facilitated the partnership between Seatrade and The Moodie Davitt Report to develop the first retail-focused programme during the Seatrade Cruise Global event in Miami in April this year.

We have also launched a podcast series, The Retail Wave Makers, which can be found on Spotify. I love hosting different stakeholders from the cruise retail industry. We are currently recording season three, which will be launched at the end of the year.

Nadine as Seatrade Retail Ambassador addressing some of the opportunities and challenges facing the cruise industry, in a retail session at Seatrade Cruise Global co-organised with The Moodie Davitt Report, April 2023

Tell us about challenges and how you overcome them.

I have had many challenges in my life; some of them are too personal to talk about here. Like our travel retail industry, I would call myself pretty resilient though. I have always tried to break down any big challenges into very small steps and remain laser focused on solving the small issues, step by step every day.

I love hiking but if I was to focus on the fact that the summit is 12 hours, and a lot of sweat, away I would not even start hiking. But knowing that after two hours there will be a break, during which I can eat the delicious sandwich I have just prepared, gives me the motivation to start walking. Considering the growing mental health crisis there is something else I would like to add. When things got too tough in my life, and I knew that I could not solve the challenges alone, I got professional help. And today, even when things are good and balanced, I try to see my therapist on a regular basis to make sure that I am well equipped for the next challenge – which as we all know could be just around the corner.

Miami moments in the city Nadine now calls home

Still based in Miami, what prompted the move to Newmark and then, another rather quick change in your career, to Reklaim, which undoubtedly opens a new door and challenge for you?

Due to a change in strategic direction at Heinemann Americas, I was supposed to go back to the Heinemann HQ in Hamburg in 2022. However, having lived in the US for more than six years at that time, Miami had become home. It was a very difficult decision. I will cherish and treasure my time at Heinemann forever, but in the end my love for my new home country was stronger and I decided to take up a new challenge at Newmark.

Simon Black and his team are some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable people I know, and I was looking forward to building the US travel retail practice for them. However, in March I was contacted by a headhunter with an opportunity to go back into operations and join a super-exciting start-up bound to revolutionise the pre-owned luxury market.

And although I had joined Newmark with the intention to stay long-term, the opportunity was too good not to take it.

In good company: With Heinemann Americas team members during the shakedown cruise of the Sky Princess in October 2019

Why does the Reklaim concept suit you?

Because it ticks so many boxes which excite me. Working for a start-up on steroids for a start; and especially working directly with the two Co-Founders Kam Razavi and Jamie Thomas. Being the first to offer a global pre-owned luxury solution (at Reklaim we call it conscious luxury) at scale; disrupting the market and building something from scratch in the eco-system I love most: travel retail.

Quality time with family and friends: Nadine with her parents Peter and Christa and (right) Karim Tamchacht. Below, flashback to the Hugo Boss days: Nadine (centre) with Nicole Daniells (left), Tanja Rief and front, Garry Maxwell and Jonathan Holland

You describe yourself as an innovator and a disruptor? Why?

I have always looked to develop out-of-the-box solutions, and I constantly seek to question the status quo.

To give you one example: I am proud of what we achieved at Heinemann Americas when we entered the US cruise market as the ‘new kid on the block’. We challenged the way the business was done for decades and as a side effect we forced the competitors to up their game, and they produced new and innovative concepts as well.

At the end, the whole cruise industry profited from us challenging the market. Consider the approach to the logo category. When we proposed to open a 1,000 sq ft standalone shop fully dedicated to logo on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, some people thought we were crazy. But the end results showed that we were not.

And now at Reklaim I have the opportunity to innovate and disrupt again. We believe that the conscious luxury category will be the next US$1 billion category in travel retail, and I know that we will play an important role in achieving this goal.

One of my mantras is “If you are not scared of your dreams, your dreams are not big enough” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia 2006-2016.

Nadine Heubel with her much-loved Rhodesian Ridgebacks Rhonda (left) and Tara

Let’s consider mentorship and empowerment. What is the source of your own strength?

I am very grateful for the mentors I had and have in my life. They include Liz Woodland, Harry Diehl, all my former bosses and, outside the industry, Anthony Hucker, who is CEO of one of the biggest supermarket chains in the US.

For me it is very important to listen to and learn from others, as they will have different perspectives, ideas and approaches and I know that my decision making is so much better when I take their thoughts into consideration.

I am a mentor myself and what I am most grateful for is that I learn so much from my mentees as well. Seeing them thrive and celebrate successes together is just wonderful. I especially love working with female entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the constant worry of not being prepared enough, of being too forceful and bossy, and many – like me – suffer from imposter syndrome. And this is where empowerment comes into play. It is all about allowing ourselves to be our most authentic selves – we don’t need to be perfect; we just need to be us.

Vulnerability is a strength and I admire everyone (man or woman) who focuses on being a human being first and foremost.

Being in an environment where I can be myself gives me a lot of strength. As a big believer in energy, I believe that strength feeds strength. If I feel empowered, I can make others feel empowered as well and vice versa.

In the pink: Nadine with travel retail friends Barry Geoghegan and David Spillane

And the importance of giving back and balancing career, family, friends and interests?

When I was in my late 20s, and I had just taken over the position as Global Head of Travel Retail, I went for a walk with a colleague of mine. We had a very close, trusting relationship and she said to me, “Sometimes I don’t know where Nadine ends, and Hugo Boss starts”. It was not meant as a compliment.

That comment made me think. Don’t get me wrong. For me, one of my biggest luxuries in life is that I have always loved what I have been doing for a living, and it has always been much more than just a job. But we are so much more than our job or the position we hold.

Now I make sure that besides my time spent at work, I can spend quality time with family and friends, continue my mentoring assignments, learn new things (at the moment I am super interested in learning more about AI) and go on walks with my two Rhodesian Ridgeback girls.

And I know the more fulfillment I find outside of work, the better I will be at work.

Elizabeth Arden will supply each of the remarkable women who takes part in our series with a special gift box which will include:

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