Mothercare appoints The Body Shop exec to boost customer loyalty

Birchall joins Mothercare from The Body Shop where he was global director of CRM since 2012.

He previously held senior roles at Adidas Group, Barclaycard and Ikea, where he was responsible for the design, launch and management of the Ikea customer loyalty programme.

Birchall replaces Ryan Davies who held the role at Mothercare for 18 months. 

Mothercare said: “Birchall will be responsible for developing increased CRM capability, insight and building consumer loyalty to the brand by evolving ways in which Mothercare can support parents across all platforms and touchpoints.”

The maternity retailer has more than 2.5 million active members on its customer database while its ‘my mothercare’ loyalty programme accounts for 50% of all first time expectant mothers in the UK.

Mothercare global brand and marketing director Gary Kibble said: “I’m delighted to announce Glyn’s appointment. His extensive experience in building customer relationships with brands will play a key role in delivering a highly personalised Mothercare experience for our parents to guide them through this new and exciting time in their lives.”

Birchall said: “It’s a privilege to join such an iconic brand that is focused on delivering a truly omnichannel retail business.”

Earlier this month, the maternity specialist reported a 2.1% rise in UK like-for-likes in the fourth quarter “with support from online sales, which were up 5.6%”. However, the retailer noted that overseas trading has been challenging.