Ex-Kingfisher and John Lewis director named new chief executive of Joules

Brown, who has held a variety of senior omnichannel roles at big-name retailers, will join Joules as chief executive designate at the start of September and will formally take over from Jones at the end of that month.

He has previously been director of multichannel at B&Q owner Kingfisher, omnichannel director at John Lewis and chief executive of MandM Direct, where “he executed a successful turnaround plan”.

Brown, who was most recently chief executive of Compare the Market, is also a former chief operating officer of Photobox, where “he led the strategic, commercial, and organisational transformation” of the business including Moonpig. 

Joules chair Ian Filby said: “The board was in unanimous agreement that, amongst some very high calibre candidates, Jonathon was the standout choice to be our new CEO.

“He has significant experience across the retail and digital industries, a proven track record of delivering business transformation, and the vision and ambition to lead Joules through the next stages of its development.

Brown said: “I am delighted to have been selected to lead Joules at such an important time in its development. Joules is a very strong brand, with a highly relevant purpose and product proposition. The group’s digitalisation in recent years as well as its increased customer base mean it has very solid foundations for the future.  

“Whilst there have been some headwinds in the past year, I am very excited by the business’ future opportunities. The group is making strong progress against its clear plans to improve profitability by simplifying the business and optimising the cost base. I look forward to working closely with the Joules team to return the business to sustainable, profitable growth and optimise the significant future opportunities available to us.”

Joules has recently held talks with Next about the fashion giant potentially taking a stake.

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