After Nearly 30 Years CEO Hannah Colman Can’t Get Enough of Jimmy Choo

LONDON — In the world of luxury, Hannah Colman, chief executive officer of Jimmy Choo, is a rarity. She spent her entire career at the company before taking up the top job in 2020, starting in 1997 as a “Saturday girl,” working on the shop floor of the brand’s first and only store on Motcomb Street in Belgravia.

After doing the weekend shifts, she became manager of that store and in the ensuing years worked her way up the management ranks. She served as president EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa] and global e-commerce, and later interim CEO after her predecessor, Pierre Denis, left the job.

Unusually for a luxury CEO, she has a long-standing, collaborative and warm relationship with the brand’s creative chief, Sandra Choi, a niece of the namesake cofounder. Colman and Choi worked together for decades under various private equity and industry owners before Capri Holdings purchased Jimmy Choo in 2017.

Over the years they’ve helped fuel growth at the brand, which posted $605 million in revenue in fiscal 2025, opening stores; dressing celebrities on- and off-screen; adding product offshoots and licenses to the footwear mix, and building up the handbag category, which now accounts for a large chunk of sales.

Their tight relationship has meant that Jimmy Choo, which turns 30 in 2026, still has the feel of an entrepreneurial family business despite its corporate ownership.

Here, Colman talks about collaboration, pushing further into customers’ closets and the opportunities she sees in menswear.

WWD: What has kept you at Jimmy Choo for so long?

Hannah Colman: Jimmy Choo has had so many different chapters, and I have worn many, many hats over the years. I went to America to open and helm their stores, then I came back and started developing Europe. I ran EMEA for years, and then I took on running global e-commerce and client [relationships] for the house, and then CEO after that. The business and the brand were constantly evolving, and so were my roles.

When I look back at Jimmy Choo, I have such a sense of pride. When I started, it was one store, and now we have over 200 stores around the world. We started off selling beautiful women’s shoes, but now we also have a sizable accessories business, and successful fragrance and eyewear businesses. We do jewelry, we do men’s, and it’s still evolving today with all of the investments we’ve been making in the brand. I also get to work with really talented people. That creativity and dedication is what made Jimmy Choo.

Because I’ve been here for nearly 30 years, I also have an innate understanding of the brand and a deep understanding of the clients. Because I started on the shop floor, I am very connected to clients, and still spend a lot of time with them today. I think it’s important, and it underpins the success of Jimmy Choo.

WWD: Can you talk about your relationship with Sandra, and why it’s lasted so long?

H.C.: We’ve worked together for almost 30 years, and over so many chapters of Jimmy Choo. It’s created a deep sense of trust, and an invaluable shorthand. We have this instinctive, shared vision, and I have a deep-rooted admiration for her exceptional skill. She’s absolutely brilliant, and I think we really share this desire to give the customer what we think they want. One of the reasons I stay at Jimmy Choo is Sandra, and the pleasure that I have of working with her. We have a shared history, and that’s so special, but we also want to take Jimmy Choo forward, and I think that’s what we both find so galvanizing. We understand where the other is coming from, and we have that understanding of the customer, too.

WWD: Has the client changed since you started?

H.C.: After the pandemic, there was a sort of reprisal of “lifestyle.” Although high heels are a very significant part of our business, they’re only part of our clients’ wardrobes now. They’re looking for a broader offer, and we’ve listened to that, we’ve answered that, and we make so many more low heels and boots. We know it’s working because, in the year to date, we’re seeing strong, double-digit growth from low heels. We never deviate from the glamour or the beauty of the designs — and the craftsmanship is all there — but the offer today is broader.

WWD: What efforts are you making to attract a new generation of clients?

H.C.: We are very much focused on retaining our clients, but we’re also looking at bringing new clients into the brand. And I’m always really inspired by how Jimmy Choo shows up in contemporary culture. How many brands had a legitimate part to play in Charli XCX’s wedding? We made her wedding shoes, and we also make the go-to boot that Patti Smith performs in. We make shoes that incredible artists like Dua Lipa and Olivia Dean perform in, and I don’t think there’s a greater [endorsement] than that. If you go on to Spotify, you’ll see there are more than 800 million references to Jimmy Choo.

People have an affinity, a love for the brand. They trust the product and the craftsmanship. Jimmy Choo is going to be 30 years old next year — which is mind-blowing — and we want to leverage that history and build cultural relevance for new audiences. The archive collection, which Sandra worked on with Alex Fury and Conner Ives, was amazingly successful, and really resonated with a young audience. The film that Alex made for us was the most viewed piece of content we brought out all year. Jimmy Choo has doubled its following on TikTok this year, and a lot of that links back to that archive collection.

WWD: How else have you been engaging with customers?

H.C.: We’re looking at new formats, and how we reach customers. Sandra did a talk at the V&A [in May] and it sold out in minutes. We also have a new marketing franchise called “Meet Me at the Bar.” The premise is to take product launches into real life settings. We’ve done those events in London, New York and Asia, and we’re doing another one in Ginza at our café.

We’re connecting people — it all goes back to community and connection. We also do that in the stores. Think about buying shoes — how many other purchases do you make that are that social? If you go into our stores, you’ll see that the two sofas are set up opposite each other so it feels more like a living room. That’s intentional. You could be there trying on shoes, while another customer could be there doing the same, or buying a bag, and you’ll start up a conversation. It’s a social experience.

WWD: How did you feel earlier this year when Capri confirmed that Jimmy Choo is not for sale despite the wider changes at the group?

H.C.: We feel good about it. Jimmy Choo has been one of the most transacted businesses in luxury fashion in the last 30 years, and every owner has brought something to the house. Capri, and specifically John [Idol, Capri’s chairman and CEO], have put so much trust into the brand. The group has also invested a lot in Jimmy Choo since they bought it. Their investment, and belief in the brand, give us the confidence to take the business forward and drive it in line with the strategy we’ve defined.

WWD: What is the strategy?

H.C.: We want to grow day shoes to be 60 percent of the shoe business, and we see accessories growing to 30 percent of the overall business. We will also double our men’s business, which today represents less than 5 percent of sales. We see men’s as a growth opportunity — 20 percent of the fragrance business is men’s, and when we do collaborations with a men’s angle, they sell out at the same rate as the women’s. Overall, we’re really happy with the results of the full-price sales, and we’re seeing the client respond really well to the new collections, and that gives us confidence.

We’re very, very proud of our DNA, the glamour and the beauty of the brand, and our commitment to our clients. Now it’s about going beyond that and asking ourselves how we can we go deeper into their wardrobes, with lower heels, flats, boots, and accessories. We have successful businesses in fragrance [with Inter Parfums] and in eyewear with Luxottica and we’re always asking ourselves: “How can we be there in more ways for the customers?” And we know that they want to buy deeper into the brand.

WWD: Can you talk more about the accessories business, and how you’ve built that?

H.C.: Our key bags today are Bon Bon and Cinch. In Q2 [of fiscal 2026] those bag families grew 25 percent year-on-year. Full-price sales of all accessories grew 15 percent year-on-year. We are really gaining momentum now with the category. I see it as a real pillar for the brand, not only because it allows customers to buy more into Jimmy Choo, but also because we know that the design is there, the craftsmanship is there, and it’s resonating with our customers.

WWD: What are some of your footwear bestsellers, and have they remained the same over the years?

H.C.: One of our bestselling shoes is the Azia [a strappy sandal]. It launched a long time ago, and originally it was called Lance. Then there’s the classic Love pump, and the Ixia pump, which is a modern version of the Love, with a [teardrop] shaped heel. The Ixia is super-modern, very architectural and becoming an icon in its own right. The heel makes it sturdy — and incredibly comfortable.

Over the last five years, we’ve bought two factories in Tuscany. They are amazing, there are generations of artisans working there. We wanted to invest in them to preserve that artisanal craft and quality which is what underpins luxury. The majority of our dress shoes are made there now, and it’s been fantastic for Sandra and the design team to take [their ideas] from the sketch all the way through to our factories.

WWD: How has the brand been coping with the slowdown in luxury demand, especially in China?

H.C.: I think we’re feeling better about the Asian market and starting to see some green shoots of improvement there. We’re pleased with the U.S. market and the potential we see there. Europe has always been a really strong market for Jimmy Choo. We’re a British brand, and very proud of our British and European roots. And we make our product in Italy. Japan, where we still have a sizable business, is a little bit more challenging at the moment, although we are making investments in the market. In Japan, a third of the business is men’s, while another third is women’s accessories, and a third is women’s shoes.

WWD: How are you using AI in the business?

H.C.: We are very much in a test-and-learn stage, and we’ve started looking at how AI could problem-solve. We’re very much looking at the planning and forecasting side of what AI can do. We are looking at it in terms of how to optimize performance marketing, and already we’re seeing AI enhance the tools we’re already using. The opportunity of AI is in allowing people more time to look into the analysis that’s being generated, and do something with it. And perhaps be more creative.

WWD: On a more personal note, who have been your mentors over the years?

H.C.: Tamara [Mellon], one of the cofounders of Jimmy Choo, and her father Thomas Yeardye, who was chairman of the company. They had trust in me, belief in me, from the beginning and gave me an opportunity to be a part of the Jimmy Choo journey. And they allowed me to fail. They also allowed me to hold many different roles, and that was really formative for me. That foundation of trust and belief has really played a part in the type of leader that I am. Today, I get inspiration from many people, from a multitude of perspectives. I just think there’s so much value in people’s lived experience, especially in this constantly evolving consumer landscape.

WWD: What’s the first question you ask when you’re interviewing someone for a job at Jimmy Choo?

H.C.: “What excites you about Jimmy Choo? How do you see your skills contributing to our future?” I ask those questions because you normally get a sense of people’s adaptability by the way they answer. You understand what skills they’re bringing to the table, but you also understand what areas interest them beyond what they’ve done so far. I also think a combination of adaptability and emotional intelligence is critical for our industry today.

WWD: What do you enjoy doing outside of business hours?

H.C.: My family and I bought a farm in the English countryside, in the Surrey Hills, so now I’m learning about habitats, wildlife, rewilding — and optimal fencing. I’ve got to be honest, it’s a very steep learning curve. It’s also magical, and the kids are loving it. We have 50 acres and, at the moment, we’re look at how we can rewild it, and what we can do with the land. It’s a bit like running a brand. You grow, you nurture, you protect it, you build it over time. And it requires commitment, and consistent work. It’s also wonderful to wake up and be in the countryside. It gives you a different perspective. My parents moved there with us, too. It’s great for my kids — they’ve got their grandparents on the doorstep.