Shop Direct hires first fashion director
Shop Direct, the owner of Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, has appointed Gap European buying director Zoe Matthews to the newly created role of fashion director.
Due to join Shop Direct on 15 July, Matthews will report to group product director Matt Dixon and will be responsible for ladieswear, menswear, sportswear, kidswear, footwear and accessories.
Prior to Gap, Matthews was senior head of buying and design at White Stuff and head of buying at House of Fraser. She has also previously worked in senior buying roles at John Lewis and Marks & Spencer.
The creation of the fashion director role is the culmination of Shop Direct’s restructure of its senior clothing and footwear team. This has involved splitting out buying from merchandising as Shop Direct looks to create a more streamlined reporting structure.
The restructure has also resulted in clothing and footwear trading director Pauline Lauder being promoted to the new role of group merchandising director where she will head up all of the merchandising teams.
Dixon said: “Since being promoted to the role of group product director last November, I’ve spent time with the teams restructuring our clothing and footwear department in line with the market. This is an important step for us as we look to drive our fashion business forward and create clear career paths for our people.
“Zoe’s arrival cements that new structure and will ensure that we have a consistency of approach across our clothing and footwear categories. Her fashion credentials are second to none and we’re looking forward to working with her to strengthen our product agenda as we develop into a world class digital retailer.”
Matthews added: “Shop Direct’s clothing and footwear business is in a great position, thanks to its experienced team, strong focus on stock and efficiency and deep understanding of its customer base.
“There’s a huge opportunity now to really develop and curate its product range, particularly in own brand fashion. I’m excited to get into the business and to start working with the team.”
