Tesco has named Jan Marchant as the new chief executive of its F&F clothing division, seven months after Richard Price left to rejoin Marks & Spencer.
Retail Week has learned that Marchant, who started her career at Topshop and moved to Tesco in 2002, has been promoted from her previous role of creative and digital director with immediate effect.
She had taken on the interim chief executive role since Price left the business in December.
In an internal announcement circulated to Tesco staff and seen by Retail Week, Tesco chief product officer Andrew Yaxley said: “Jan has been stepping up as the interim CEO of F&F since December 2019.
“Throughout this time, Jan has demonstrated great leadership and values in both supporting the team and driving the clothing business forward at a particularly challenging time.”
Marchant was a senior buyer at Etam and head of buying for ladieswear at Mackays before joining Tesco 18 years ago as buying director for UK clothing.
In 2011, she was made design director for F&F Europe and was promoted to creative and digital director in September 2017.
Her appointment comes after M&S poached her predecessor Price to run its troubled clothing and home division.
Price, who was M&S’ trading director between 2005 and 2012, said he rejoined the high street stalwart because there was “a real chance to make it special again” under the leadership of chief executive Steve Rowe and chair Archie Norman.
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