Fashion guru George Davies will concentrate on his S’porter football chain business after revealing this week that he will step down from his role as part-time chairman of Per Una at the end of December.
Davies told Retail Week: “The football business is going well and we will develop it further. We have launched new aftershaves for both Arsenal and Liverpool. It is good fun and the new Liverpool store we opened is also going well.”
Davies said he may expand the chain and that it has the potential to generate sales of more than£100 million internationally.
The entrepreneur behind Next and George at Asda created the£500 million Per Una business for Marks & Spencer in 2001.
Davies’ daughter and business director Melanie Davies is also leaving the business. Andrew Skinner, director of general merchandise planning, will become trading director for Per Una, reporting to M&S womenswear boss Kate Bostock. Helen Low, womenswear head of design for casualwear, will become Per Una’s trading director.
M&S executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose thanked Davies for a “fantastic job in establishing Per Una and building it into a significant brand”. He confirmed that the business would continue to run separately from M&S and said he was not worried about its future without its founder at the helm.
A further reshuffle has also been revealed at M&S’s clothing division. Annette Brown has been promoted to trading director for women’s casualwear, Limited Collection and knitwear. Bernadette Lusher has been promoted to trading director for women’s formalwear, footwear and accessories.
Trading director for menswear Julian Kilmartin is leaving and will be replaced by Richard Price, who is head of merchandising for womenswear at present.
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