Mothercare takes baby steps with interim hire
MOTHERCARE yesterday announced it had hired retail veteran Mark Newton-Jones as its interim chief executive as it searches for a long-term boss for the struggling business.
Newton-Jones, who takes up the reins next Monday, was chief executive of the internet and home shopping business Shop Direct for nearly a decade, until July last year.
His retail career spans some 30 years, including senior roles at fashion label Next and Next Directory.
Newton-Jones replaces Simon Calver, who quit the baby products firm last month after less than two years in the role and weeks after a profit warning which knocked more than a third off share prices.
The board, led by chairman Alan Parker, is understood to have conducted a review of the business following the January profit warning and decided that it needed a chief executive with a different set of skills to tackle trading and margin challenges.
Parker said yesterday that Newton-Jones’ “leadership skills and depth of experience… will further enhance our drive to deliver the recovery of the UK business to complement the strong and growing international operations.”