M&S has confirmed a shakeup of its clothing and home sourcing team as it looks to reposition the division for the future and get it back to sustainable growth.
Notably, the move sees the exit of Lindsey brothers, Mark and Neal, who retire at the end of March, and the appointments of former Nike, Inc executive Monique Leeuwenburgh to director of sourcing and Dani Williams as director of commercial operations.
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The announcement was made internally, with CEO Richard Price commenting on a note sent to colleagues that the Lindsey brothers leave M&S with strong foundations from which to move forward.
Price noted optimising the M&S sourcing model by working with fewer, but deeper, supplier partners, is critical to improving its value credentials and speed to market whilst protecting its margin.
Leeuwenburgh’s promotion brings together M&S’ sourcing, technical, and Plan A sustainability operations which it relaunched at the end of 2020.
Leeuwenburgh has been with M&S since October 2019 and, in her time, with the company has been said to have made a huge difference in clothing and home, driving efficiencies in processes and ways of working, streamlining materials, and improved margin and quality perceptions.
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By GlobalDataWilliams, meanwhile, joins the business from having led on commercial strategy for Debenhams and Dixons.
Price said the changes the group has made to modernise and improve the clothing and home product engine have begun to drive significantly improved customer perception of value for money, whilst maintaining its market lead on quality.
Clothing helped to drive strong Christmas trading at M&S, with the retailer’s clothing and home segment delivering growth for the second successive quarter.
Meanwhile, M&S unveiled a ‘live shopping’ service last month it said gives shoppers the opportunity to join a live broadcast and learn more about a product prior to purchasing.
