Nursery retailer Mamas & Papas has appointed retail veteran Derek Lovelock as interim chief executive officer.
Lovelack was recently chairman of Karen Millen and Aurora Fashions, owner of the Coast, Oasis and Warehouse brands and has extensive experience in the retail industry. He joins Mamas & Papas with immediate effect.
Mamas & Papas was bought by private equity firm BlueGem last week in a deal thought to be worth £20m and could close stores after being hit by stiff competition from Amazon.
Lovelack commented: “Mamas & Papas is a fantastic, iconic brand with a fundamentally strong position in the nursery market. I‘m delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Scacchetti family and BlueGem to develop and implement a plan that will both consolidate Mamas & Papas‘ enviable position in the UK market and accelerate expansion internationally.”
David Scacchetti, chairman of Mamas & Papas, added: “I‘m delighted Derek is joining us. He brings a wealth of retail experience in general and also has an excellent knowledge and understanding of the nursery market. His expertise will be a huge asset to us as we draw up plans for the future that will help us to accelerate our global expansion ambitions.”
BlueGem previously invested in London department store and luxury fabric retailer Liberty.
