Marks & Spencer has recruited a new marketing director for to help bolster its food business as it seeks to bring the division back on track in light of recent underperformance.
Sharry Cramond has been named as the person who will fill the newly-created role of marketing director, food and hospitality, and she is set to commence at the end of the month.
She comes from US grocery firm Southeastern Grocers and has also worked for Tesco and Coles Australia.
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Other overhauls in M&S’s senior marketing team includes Nathan Ansell, currently customer and loyalty marketing director, who has been appointed to the new role of clothing and home marketing director.
Meanwhile, while Rob Weston will move to become brand and customer marketing director.
Cramond, Ansell and Weston will all report to Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, M&S’s executive director of customer, marketing and digital.
The marketing revamp is the latest in a raft of announcements since retail veteran Archie Norman joined as chairman in November, when M&S unveiled its half-year report and re-set chief executive Steve Rowe’s turnaround strategy.
This includes plans to accelerate the closure of under-performing clothing stores and a slower expansion of its food arm.
Two other recent hires include Humphrey Singer as new chief finance officer and Victoria Self as digital director, with the latter also reporting to Bousquet-Chavanne.
Last week, M&S posted a mixed bag of results in its key Christmas quarter with a fourth straight quarter of like-for-like sales decline in its food division and yet another steep decline in sales in its embattled clothing arm.
It also announced last week that it would outsource more than half of its 430 IT roles under a technology overhaul that will save around £30 million a year.
In addition, earlier this week M&S announced it would cease operations at its Neasden distribution centre, placing 380 jobs at risk, and open a new one in Welham Green that will act as a distribution centre the clothing and homes division and create 500 new jobs.
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