Debenhams marketing, beauty and digital boss Richard Cristofoli is leaving the business as part of a shake-up of its senior leadership team, Retail Week can reveal.
Cristofoli is exiting the beleaguered department store business alongside stores, operations and food boss Mark Ashman and transformation and people director Sally Hyndman.
Former WH Smith and Sainsbury’s executive Cristofoli departs after eight years with Debenhams.
He is credited with the launch of the retailer’s new ‘beauty hall of the future’ concept, the work done on repositioning its branding and last year’s ‘Found It’ Christmas campaign.
The top-level changes come as new boss Stefaan Vansteenkiste bids to transform Debenhams’ ailing fortunes.
Following the restructure, Debenhams’ beauty team will report into Steven Cook, who has added responsibility for the category to his existing fashion and home remit.
Similarly, director of international, Jess Shepherd, will assume responsibility for Debenhams’ digital division.
Debenhams has drafted in Erin Brookes on secondment from Alvarez & Marsal to act as chief restructuring officer and interim director of marketing.
Ashman’s role will be assumed by Angela Morrison in her expanded role of director of stores, technology and supply chain, while the HR function vacated by Hyndman will now report directly into Vansteenkiste.
Cook, Shepherd, Brookes and Morrison are joined on the Debenhams executive team by finance boss Rachel Osborne.
In an internal note to staff seen by Retail Week, Vansteenkiste said the change will provide “the right structure to increase the focus on the key areas of our business”.
He said the streamlined team would “increase clarity and accountability” within the business, bring “more singular focus” on “critical parts” of its business, including marketing, digital and store operations.
Vansteenkiste added that the move would “reduce costs” and create a “smaller” senior team that could make decisions “more quickly and resolutely”.
Debenhams is the midst of a turnaround effort, having secured creditor approval for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA),. The process will allow it to shutter 50 stores and slash its rents and business rates liabilities across its remaining sites.
However, the plan is being challenged in court this week by one of its landlords, Combined Property Control Group (CPC), which owns six Debenhams stores. CPC’s challenge is being bankrolled by Sports Direct.
In the note, Vansteenkiste insisted he was “very confident” that Debenhams would “see off the challenge to our CVA”.
As part of its turnaround plan, Debenhams revealed this morning that it was seeking the consent of bondholders to enable its lenders to inject an additional £50m in funding.
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