Former My-Wardrobe chief executive David Worby has joined global footwear giant Bata as multichannel director, it has emerged.

Worby left My-Wardrobe in November after the business was bought in a pre-pack administration deal. Worby, who was at the etailer for under two years, was the first chief executive hired from outside the etailer since it was founded in 2006.

Worby has taken up a newly created role at Switzerland-based Bata, which has more than 5,000 stores across 60 countries including France, Italy, Australia and Canada. It stocks 18 of its own brands such as Bata, North Star and Toughees.

Worby, who joined Bata last month, told Retail Week his hire was part of the company’s mission to boost its multichannel offer.

“We’ve got eight transactional sites across Europe under country banners like Italy which are all at the early stage of ecommerce,” he said. “The plan is to harmonise these sites and bring them under one Bata.com website.”

Worby is on the hunt for a permanent London office for the company, which is temporarily residing at Soho Square.

Currently consisting of about eight staff, Worby will be responsible for building a team of up to 50 people in the next few years.

Before My-Wardrobe, Worby was director of Harrods Direct for three years. He has also worked as head of direct at Debenhams.

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