Marks & Spencer taps Topshop exec as head of womenswear merchandising

Marks & Spencer has appointed Helen Wilson as its new head of merchandising for womenswear.

Wilson joins from the Arcadia group, where she worked as merchandise director of Wallis from 2009, before joining Topshop as merchandising director in 2012. She also previously worked as the international commercial director at Monsoon Accessorize.

The British retailer has made a number top highers recently as it moves forward with its transformation strategy, including David Surdeau as interim chief financial officer, Arcadia’s former creative director Anthony Cassidy as head of brand creative, and CEO of F&F Clothing at Tesco Richard Price as managing director, clothing and home.

Commenting on the appointment in a statement, Jill Stanton, Marks & Spencer womenswear director, said: “Marks & Spencer is changing and the team and I are focused on what matters to our customers – great quality, easy to wear style and the best wardrobe essentials, delivered at great value and backed up by an easy shopping experience. To deliver this change we’re continuing to develop a team of world-class talent, this includes bringing in new expertise and so we’re absolutely delighted that Helen Wilson will be joining the team.”

For the 13 weeks to December 28, Marks & Spencer reported a “disappointing” Christmas trading period, with UK clothing and home sales down 3.7 percent compared to the prior-year period, partly due to an “underperformance in menswear and gifting.”

Photo credit: Marks & Spencer media gallery