John Lewis is beefing up its senior online team as part of the retail giant’s quest for a greater share of the ecommerce market by recruiting three new chiefs, including eBay’s UK head of brand marketing, to spearhead the charge.
Rosie Hanley, who becomes John Lewis’ head of brand and marketing, has been with eBay for seven years, most recently leading campaigns such as its “More Ways to Win” activity through McCann, as well as a content partnership with News UK. Prior to eBay she was at Tesco-owned data giant DunnHumby as product manager.
She will join John Lewis next month, and be responsible for the retailer’s brand strategy. The company recently pledged to spend £50m on overhauling and futureproofing the business in the wake of Covid-19 after slumping to a £517m loss last year due to lockdowns; the only bright spot was that online sales rocketed by 73%.
Meanwhile, Dunhelm digital director Steve Masterton has been brought in as online trading director. Prior to spending nearly five years at Dunhelm, he was digital director at Arcadia Group brands BHS, Burton and Evans, and also spent five years at Orange, latterly as head of Orange online shop.
Finally, Lululemon Athletica director of real estate and store development Stephen Spencer has been appointed to the new role of director of store of the future. Spencer has also held senior retail development roles at Tiffany & Co, Apple, and HMV.
John Lewis executive director Pippa Wicks said: “They bring with them an enormous amount of talent and experience and will all play critical leadership roles in delivering our turnaround strategy as we invest to accelerate our online business, make our existing and future new format shops extraordinary destinations and modernise our brand.”
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