M&S boosts global growth plans with senior international hires
M&S has made a trio of senior appointments within its international division as it seeks to drive growth in its overseas business
M&S has made a trio of senior appointments within its international division as it seeks to drive growth in its overseas business
The retailer has appointed Victoria Jones as its new commercial director for international operations.
Jones, who previously held senior roles at Clarks, most recently served as chief product and merchandising officer. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing the product strategy for M&S’s international operations in both clothing and food, “leveraging the best of the UK business.”
M&S has also named Manish Kapoor as managing director of M&S India. Kapoor joins from Pepe Jeans, where he was CEO of the fashion brand’s Indian operations. He brings extensive experience in building global retail brands and a deep understanding of the Indian consumer market, Retail Week reported.
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Meanwhile, Richard Davies has been promoted to international partnerships director. He was previously head of category for brands at M&S and will now be tasked with bringing together the franchise and wholesale selling models under a unified structure.
All three appointments will report directly to Mark Lemming, the international managing director at M&S. Lemming, who was appointed last year, is leading the charge to reset the retailer’s overseas operations following a period of disappointing performance. For the first half of the financial year, M&S reported a 10.3% drop in constant currency sales, with operating profit before adjustments halving.
Lemming said: “The reset of our international business is focused on taking the right time and actions to build strong foundations for sustainable growth. Building an experienced global leadership team is an essential element of this plan and Manish, Victoria and Richard will play important roles, bringing fresh perspectives on our international reset and future growth strategy”
“As we continue to progress with our strategy, I remain confident in the medium and long-term opportunity for M&S to drive global growth.”
Earlier this month, M&S also unveiled a raft of changes to its leadership team as part of its ongoing transformation of its clothing, home and beauty division.
Current MD of its clothing & home arm Richard Price, who’s been in the position since 2020, will be stepping down after a handover period at the end of April.
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