House of Fraser's David Walmsley resigns, new CMO from Doddle appointed

Paddy Earnshaw has served as Doddle’s chief customer officer for the last three years is new chief executive Alex Williamson’s first big hire.

Walmsley spent just over a year at House of Fraser overseeing its customer research and digital replatforming after becoming one of a spate of senior departures at M&S following the appointment of Steve Rowe.

Earnshaw, who joins the department store retailer on October 30, does not come from a retail background.

Prior to his time at Doddle, he held roles including Worldpay chief customer officer and Travelex marketing and communications head.

Williamson said: “Paddy brings a wealth of digital, retail and online experience to House of Fraser and is one of the brightest, most innovative marketers in our sector with a strong track record of delivering results at pace.

“He has always shown a real focus on customers in his previous roles and will bring a huge amount to our overall customer proposition.

“Paddy has worked in entrepreneurial environments throughout his career with significant competition for every customer, where both detail and creativity are vital. With his strong skills and experience, Paddy will be a valuable asset to our transformation programme.”

House of Fraser is currently struggling in a beleaguered department store market. Like-for-likes were down 5.2% at its interim results last week while losses widened to £8.6m.

House of Fraser attributed falls in its in-store and online sales to the launch of its £25m web re-platforming programme in April and subsequent disruption to its ecommerce channel and clearance of five of its now-terminated in-house womenswear brands.

The retailer’s majority shareholder Sanpower ploughed £15m into the business this month to support its ongoing transformation plan.

The cash injection was only the second funding to come from the Chinese conglomerate, which acquired House of Fraser in 2014.