Hitchenor Wakeford in the News...
As Hitchenor Wakeford continues its growth in the UK and internationally, working with great brands, we have been keeping clients and candidates up to date with moves in the market via our regular Insight e-shots.
Our continued expansion has not gone unnoticed in the business and trade press, with regular coverage of our new appointments and other developments.
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Hitchenor Wakeford help Aurora get their man
The boss of global fashion retailer Aurora is predicting further ‘bricks and clicks’ growth after Hitchenor Wakeford helped him secure the services of marketing and e-commerce guru Hash Ladha.Ladha, who will take up the role of Group Multichannel Director on June 1st, has extensive experience in marketing and business development in the retail fashion sector. He was Marketing And Operations Director at ASOS from 2007 until last November, while previous roles included Marketing Director at New Look and Commercial Director at Dorothy Perkins.
He was hired after being put forward by Hitchenor Wakeford Partner Spencer Jinks, who was aware that an e-commerce retail marketing expert would help Aurora achieve their ambitious international multichannel growth targets, and was in discussions with Ladha regarding his next challenge.
Ladha’s appointment has led delighted directors of Aurora Fashions - behind the well known international high street fashion brands Coast, Karen Millen, Oasis and Warehouse - to predict further growth after two years which have seen their e-commerce sales more than double.
Chief Executive Mike Shearwood was quick to pay tribute to Hitchenor Wakeford’s role in securing their man.
He said: “Far from acting purely as a traditional headhunter, Hitchenor Wakeford gave consideration to our strategic business development aims and through their extensive industry contacts and commercial appreciation of the Aurora business matched them to a market-leading professional.
“We created a new group-level position for Hash and I am confident that his wealth of experience at the forefront of e-commerce retail will support multichannel growth for all our brands.”
Aurora has seen e-commerce sales more than double over the last two years, now representing 10% of UK sales. Significant further growth is planned for 2010 with the UK e-commerce business increasing market share and a rapidly growing international online business.
The Aurora brands already have a significant international presence, trading from stores and concessions in 45 countries, with e-commerce orders delivered to 27 countries last year.
This year will see the launch of a dedicated US website with local fulfilment for Karen Millen, the first local language websites for all brands, and an integrated multichannel approach to international growth.
Jinks, Director of Hitchenor Wakeford’s Consumer practice, said: “This appointment highlights how an in-depth understanding of a business’s strategic goals and ambitions, married with our extensive contacts in the consumer sector, can result in an exceptional hire.
“Traditional executive search is about identifying candidates to fill vacant positions. A fresh approach is to look at a business’s strategic medium-term plans, map out the pan-European market and identify the future leaders and innovators who will assist in achieving those key objectives.
“Unique roles can then be created which are highly attractive to the candidate and commercially beneficial for the client. It is proving an increasingly popular and impactful way of identifying and hiring leading talent for all our industry contacts.”
