Matalan has appointed former George at Asda exec Ruth Golightly as its new head of buying for childrenswear.

Golightly joined the fashion and homewares retailer in September, with the appointment forming part of Matalan’s leadership recruitment drive, Drapers reported. 

She most recently served as senior director of design, sales and licensing for Blues Group from 2022 to 2025.

Prior to this, Golightly worked for George at Asda, joining as a buyer in 2006 and working her way up to head of womenswear, clothing, footwear, accessories, swimwear buying and design in 2021.

She launched her fashion retail career at Next in 1997, working as a babywear, girlswear, nightwear and accessories buyer for nine years.

Matalan chief product, brand and commercial officer Sarah Welsh said: “Following the appointment of Shelley Whalley to head of womenswear (from childrenswear) earlier in the year after delivering significant growth in this area , we are delighted to be able to welcome Ruth to Matalan.

“Ruth has expansive and deep-rooted expertise in childrenswear and will support our continued market share growth in an area where we are already winning customers share of wallet.

“Ruth joins at a hugely exciting time for the business and will complement our existing internal talent as we strive to deliver the combination of everyday style, quality & value across all of our ranges.”

Last week, Matalan named ex-H&M boss Henrik Nordvall as its new CEO.

Earlier this month, the business also unveiled a series of senior hires, as it sought to deepen its expertise across buying and design, trading and merchandising, customer and loyalty, and e-commerce.

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