// Anna Braithwaite appointed M&S clothing and home marketing director
// Fiona Lambert will join M&S as the managing director of Jaeger, which it acquired out of administration last month
// Both will report to M&S clothing & home managing director Richard Price
Marks & Spencer has announced two new appointments to the senior leadership team of its clothing and home division in the wake of its recent Jaeger takeover.
Anna Braithwaite has been appointed clothing and home marketing director, while Fiona Lambert will join M&S as the managing director of Jaeger, which it acquired out of administration from Edinburgh Woollen Mill last month.
Both Braithwaite and Lambert will report to M&S clothing & home managing director Richard Price, and their appointments form part of the retailer’s wider Never The Same Again business strategy.
READ MORE:
- M&S signs deals with Phase Eight, Joules, Hobbs and Seasalt
- 233 job cuts as M&S finalises Jaeger deal
- Would M&S benefit from rebranding as a department store?
Braithwaite’s remit will be to lead the division’s marketing team, with a focus on M&S’s conversation and engagement with customers, as well as an emphasis on hero categories, such as denim, and opportunities for growth, such as kidswear and casualwear.
On the other hand, Lambert will join M&S later this month, wit a remit to lead the brand’s re-positioning and reviving its heritage in a relevant, contemporary and commercial way.
While Jaeger will be part of the M&S group, operating as a separate independent business, it will still reporting directly to the retailer’s clothing & home division.
M&S purchased the Jaeger brand, products and supporting materials last month as part of a £5 million acquisition deal with administrators of the collapsed Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group last month.
The deal did not include Jaeger’s remaining 63 stores and concessions. As a result, all 211 store staff were made redundant, as well as 22 head office staff.
M&S now plans to use Jaeger to help turbocharge growth on its ecommerce operations through selling complementary third party brands, especially since it has reportedly struck deals with Phase Eight, Joules, Hobbs and Seasalt.
“Our Never the Same Again programme is about being more relevant, more often to our customers,” Price said.
“Showing up as a brand with energy, confidence and style is crucial to this and so I’m delighted Anna Braithwaite is joining as our new clothing and home marketing director to lead how we talk to our millions of customers across the UK, however they choose to shop with us.
“Alongside this, as we turbocharge our online proposition with new brands, we’re committed to reinvigorating Jaeger whilst retaining its much-loved brand heritage – and we’ll do this through a dedicated team led by Fiona Lambert, who is experienced in transforming clothing brands.
“As a wider team we remain committed to offering our customers relevant products & services for how they’re living and working both today and in the future, and we’re looking forward to Anna and Fiona playing a role in our accelerated transformation.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
