Ribble Cycles, the bike manufacturer and retailer launched in 1987, has appointed Jon Owens as CEO and Matthew Lawson as Chief Digital Officer.
The new hires are to help significantly strengthen the presence of the brand, which is owned by retail and consumer sector specialist private equity firm True Capital, in both digital and traditional marketing channels.
Owen joins from a four-year stint at Shop Direct, where he drove a 20% per annum increase in sales as Director of Very.co.uk and subsequently sat on the group board as Group Retail Director. Prior to this, he spent seven years at Asda and Walmart in a variety of core and online roles in the UK and internationally, culminating in a role as Asda Marketing Director.
Lawson joins Ribble Cycles with a background in online marketing and a proven track record of driving SEM and web conversions.
Lawson’s past roles include Ecommerce Director at love holidays.com, where he helped increase revenue by 130% and Head of Conversion at ao.com where he served eight years.
James Dove, current MD, will work alongside Owen and Lawson as Brand Director. Dove joined the Preston-based company in 1990 and is the son of Terry Dove, who acquired the brand in 1980.
“It’s a strong, well run business making a great range of road bikes,” said Owen. “With the investment and support of True Capital, and the energy and commitment of the management team, we’ve got ambitious plans to grow the business over the next few years.”
“It’s a very exciting time to be joining Ribble and I’m looking forward to implementing my knowledge of how to get customer to convert online, which will be pivotal during the launch of our new website,” added Lawson. “The brand has an exceptional heritage and we have a number of new ideas to put in motion as the brand reaches it’s 120th birthday.
