Clicks’ Fionna Ronnie says retail leaders need curiosity and courage

Fionna Ronnie, chief marketing officer of retail at Clicks Group. Image supplied

For Fionna Ronnie, chief marketing officer of retail at Clicks Group, navigating that landscape has been less about having all the answers and more about remaining curious enough to keep asking better questions.

Reflecting on her own leadership journey during Women's Month, Ronnie describes leadership as anything but linear.

"It's a journey of courage, curiosity and constant reinvention," she says. "Opportunity doesn't always arrive neatly packaged or perfectly timed. Sometimes it looks like a challenge, a difficult decision or a business problem that no one has solved yet."

Having built her career in one of South Africa's most dynamic industries, she believes retail offers one of the best leadership classrooms imaginable.

Every day requires balancing commercial discipline with emotional intelligence while staying closely connected to customers, leading teams through change and responding to an increasingly competitive market.

For Ronnie, the biggest lesson has been learning that meaningful growth often comes from embracing uncertainty rather than avoiding it.

"You don't need to have all the answers to lead well," she says. "You need clarity of purpose, the humility to listen and the confidence to move forward."

Beyond representation

While Women's Month often focuses on representation, Ronnie believes genuine empowerment runs much deeper than simply increasing the number of women around leadership tables.

Representation, she says, must translate into influence, opportunity and trust.

Women should not only have seats in the room, they should have meaningful voices in shaping business decisions, challenging conventional thinking and helping define the future of their organisations.

That requires deliberate investment from businesses through mentorship, sponsorship, succession planning and leadership development. Just as importantly, organisations need to create environments where women can succeed without feeling pressured to conform to a single leadership mould.

"Empathy, collaboration, intuition, resilience and relationship-building are powerful business strengths," she says. "They're not soft extras."

Staying relevant in a rapidly changing world

Few industries evolve as quickly as retail and marketing, and Ronnie believes staying relevant starts with remaining endlessly curious.

"The moment you think you know everything, the customer moves on, technology moves on and the market moves on."

She has learned to become comfortable with discomfort; a quality she believes has become an essential leadership skill as loyalty programmes, data analytics, customer engagement and digital retail continue evolving at speed.

At the same time, she cautions against becoming overly reliant on data alone.

While analytics provide valuable insight, she believes the strongest customer strategies emerge when businesses combine data with empathy.

"It's not only about understanding what customers are buying," she explains. "It's about understanding why those choices matter in their lives."

Listening, she says, remains one of the most underrated leadership skills: not only listening to customers, but also to colleagues, younger talent and the subtle signals that indicate when change is needed.

Redefining loyalty through everyday value

That customer-first philosophy is particularly relevant as South African households face mounting financial pressure.

Ronnie believes today's consumers have fundamentally changed what loyalty means.

"Value has become deeply personal," she says. "For many households, loyalty is no longer about collecting points in the background. It's about whether a brand helps you make your money go further in moments that matter."

Women, who continue to play a central role in many household purchasing decisions, are increasingly looking for practical benefits that support everyday life—from groceries and healthcare to beauty essentials and family spending.

As a result, loyalty programmes are evolving beyond traditional points-based systems towards broader ecosystems that combine cashback, personalised offers, partner benefits, convenience and meaningful savings.

Customers no longer want complicated reward structures, she says. They want immediate, relevant value that fits naturally into their daily routines.

"When customers swipe a loyalty card, open an app or redeem a benefit, they should feel that the value is real, immediate and meaningful."

Designing with women, not simply marketing to them

Ronnie believes brands also need to rethink how they engage women as consumers.

Rather than viewing women as a single demographic segment, businesses should recognise the diversity of their lives, ambitions and responsibilities.

Whether someone is a student, entrepreneur, caregiver, professional or parent, brands need to understand the unique pressures and priorities that shape purchasing decisions.

"The brands that will win are those that move from communication to contribution," she says.

Instead of asking how to market products to women, organisations should ask how they can genuinely make women's lives easier, save them time, reduce financial pressure or help them achieve their goals.

For Ronnie, this is where loyalty programmes become genuinely meaningful—not when they speak at women, but when they actively support them.

Creating leaders, not followers

The same philosophy shapes Ronnie's approach to leadership.

She describes inclusive leadership as creating spaces where people feel confident enough to contribute, challenge ideas and grow into future leaders.

That means actively recognising potential, providing stretch opportunities, giving honest feedback and ensuring women gain exposure to commercial decision-making long before senior leadership roles become available.

One leadership principle continues to guide her.

"The words 'Lift as you climb' by Chanel Global CEO Leena Nair have become a huge mantra for me," she says. "How do I ensure I make it easier for those who come after me?"

For Ronnie, leadership is ultimately measured not by how much influence an individual accumulates, but by how many others they help develop along the way.

Advice for the next generation

Looking back, Ronnie encourages young women entering retail, marketing and business not to wait until they feel completely ready before pursuing opportunities.

"Growth often starts when you step into something that feels slightly bigger than you."

She encourages emerging leaders to stay curious, understand the commercial side of the business, build strong relationships and never underestimate the value of their own perspectives.

One distinction she believes every young professional should understand is the difference between mentors and sponsors.

"Mentors guide you; sponsors speak your name in rooms you're not yet in."

Perhaps most importantly, she reminds young women that leadership begins long before executive titles arrive.

"Leadership begins in how you think, how you solve problems, how you treat people and how consistently you show up."

Building a more human future

Looking ahead, Ronnie believes the next generation of women leaders will fundamentally reshape South Africa's retail and marketing landscape.

They will combine technological fluency with emotional intelligence, challenge traditional business models and build brands that are not only commercially successful but also socially relevant and deeply connected to customers.

Her own ambition is to help develop that next generation by building teams, creating customer experiences that deliver genuine value and opening doors for future female leaders.

She leaves young women with a quote that continues to inspire her own leadership journey.

"Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations," she says, quoting NASA astronaut Dr Mae Jemison.

For Ronnie, that sentiment captures what Women's Month is ultimately about: not simply celebrating how far women have come, but empowering more women to lead, innovate and redefine what leadership can look like for generations to come.