Marks & Spencer hires ex-Tesco Clubcard boss Danielle Papagapiou

Retail Week can reveal that Danielle Papagapiou, who spent 15 years at Britain’s biggest grocer and led Clubcard from February 2015 to November 2016, has joined M&S in the newly created head of loyalty role.

She will be charged with developing M&S’ Sparks loyalty scheme, pooling together its customer data and enhancing communication with shoppers to build closer and more personalised relationships.

Papagapiou, who left her most recent role as customer director at Vision Express in May, will report directly into M&S chief digital and data director Jeremy Pee.

Her appointment comes as M&S aims to accelerate efforts to transform its business and grow its digital and data teams.

The retailer has set about “embedding the use of data and technology as the norm” throughout the business by restructuring its data and digital function.

In an internal note seen by Retail Week, M&S said it is reshaping the division around six key areas of focus. The retailer said it will “grow and build the team substantially” as part of its drive to become a “digital-first business” and take 30% of all clothing and homewares sales online.

In the memo, Pee told staff the new-look data and digital team will concentrate its efforts on customer growth and experience, business development and innovation, loyalty, data, data science and digital product management.

He said focusing on those areas will allow the team to “provide the right level of support and expertise” to M&S’ various business arms, including clothing and home, food, international, property and its bank, to create a “digitally enabled culture”.

Pee added that the new structure will help M&S establish “one clear joined-up view” of its customers and their shopping experience across all channels.

Pee said: “These changes will enable our digital and data function to become a centre of excellence, help our business grow and unlock the power of data, so we make better customer decisions and deliver a seamless experience for our customers.

“This is at the heart of our strategy to become a ‘digital-first’ retailer and is critical if we are going to win in the retail market today – and in the future.”

Details of the changes came in the same week that M&S fell out of the FTSE 100 for the first time in its history.

The retailer was one of the founding members of the blue-chip list when it was formed in 1984 but was demoted on Thursday morning following the latest reshuffle.

M&S’ share price slumped from 277.5p at the start of May to 196.1p when markets closed yesterday as it grapples to arrest sluggish sales and transform its business into an online-first operator.