Marks & Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) has appointed the boss of car parts and bike seller Halfords PLC (LON:HFD), Jill McDonald to run its clothing and home business, freeing up its chief executive Steve Rowe to focus on the overall group.
McDonald, who has been appointed to the new role of Managing Director, Clothing, Home & Beauty at M&S, will have overall profit and loss accountability for all aspects of the group’s non-Food business, from design and sourcing through to supply chain and logistics.
READ: M&S up posts first quarterly rise in clothing sales in nearly two years
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She will report directly to the M&S CEO, with Rowe relinquishing his Clothing, Home & Beauty accountabilities when MacDonald joins in the autumn.
In a statement, Rowe said: "I am pleased with the progress we have made in Clothing & Home over the last year and the time is now right for this appointment.”
McDonald said: "M&S has a unique, special relationship with its customers and I am very motivated by working closely with customers to drive and shape results.”
The new recruit joined Halfords in June 2015 and was previously UK chief and president of North West Europe for US fast food giant MacDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD).
Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said that “even though Halfords CEO’s never seem to last long, Halfords investors will be dismayed to hear that Jill McDonald is off on her travels again.
“And Marks & Spencer investors will know from bitter experience not to get their hopes up that a new boss of M&S Clothing will make any difference”.
In early trading, M&S shares were 0.8%, or 3.1p lower at 367.7p, while FTSE 250-listed Halfords dropped 3.8%, or 14.4p to 360.4p.
In a separate statement, Halfords said it has commenced the process to appoint MacDonald’s successor, and added that its results for the 52 weeks ended 31 March 2017 - due to be announced on 25 May - are “expected to be in line with market expectations.”
Recovery strategies seeing some success
Rowe, M&S CEO for just over a year, has seen his recovery strategies for the group's underperforming clothing and homewares business see some success recently, although he has switched a focus to its Food operations.
Last month, M&S announced plans to open 34 new Food stores and two Clothing, Home and Food stores in the next six months as part of its five-year programme to improve its UK store estate.
READ: M&S plans to open 34 new Food stores and two Clothing, Home and Food stores
The group announced its five-year UK estate programme in November after a full review of its store portfolio.
-- Adds analysts comment, share prices, Halfords statement --