M&S makes changes at top of Clothing & Home team

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 7, 2022

There’s change under way at M&S’s recovering Clothing & Home ops as sourcing directors the Lindsey brothers step down. C&H MD Richard Price told staff that Mark and Neal Lindsey are taking “very well-deserved retirement at the end of March, and they leave us with strong foundations from which to move forward”.

The brothers have been with M&S since 2014 having started on a three-year contract to overhaul the then-struggling retailer’s sourcing. They’d previously been with Next and their contract was renewed in 2017.

During their time at the firm, they’ve been part of a return to growth in the key fashion and interiors operations as the retailer has cut back on markdowns, focused on its core categories like knits and denim and also launched hugely successful new lines such as the Goodmove active offer.

So what happens now? Well, the head of product operations, technology, sustainability, clothing and home, Monique Leeuwenburgh, is the new director of sourcing. She’ll combine that with a much wider role leading the longstanding Plan A sustainability drive.

And former Debenhams commercial transformation director and Dixons commercial strategy director Dani Williams becomes commercial and operations director. The existing holder of that post, Stephen Fitzgerald, is also leaving the company.

Price said that it’s important to optimise the retailer’s sourcing model “by working with fewer but deeper supplier partners” as it improves its value offer, gets items into stores quickly and protects margins.

He also cited consumers being increasingly environmentally-aware and Leeuwenburgh (who joined from Nike three years ago) “has made a huge difference in clothing and home, driving efficiencies in processes and ways of working, streamlining materials and driving improved margin and quality perceptions”.