Missguided chief customer officer exits after two months

Arslan Sharif was Missguided’s first ever chief customer officer, arriving at the etailer last December. He departed in January, taking up an interim role as digital and acquisition director at insurer Ageas Group.

He was previously digital director at British Gas, where he led a two-year digital transformation plan and has also worked for E.ON and in the financial services sector at Morgan Stanley, Alliance & Leicester, RBS and Halifax.

Sharif was in charge of leading Missguided’s ecommerce and digital teams, who were formerly under the control of chief technology officer John Allen.

Missguided declined to comment on Sharif’s departure.

The etailer, which focuses exclusively on value fast fashion for a millennial consumer, is in the midst of a store roll out.

In a deal that was revealed by Retail Week, Missguided opened its first store at Westfield Stratford last November and is poised to open its second shop at Bluewater in Kent this summer.

But Missguided has bold ambitions for a nationwide store rollout, and is now casting the net outside of the M25 as it seeks to grow its bricks-and-mortar footprint.

Retail Week understands that the young fashion etailer also intends to take space in Liverpool One, Intu Metrocentre in Newcastle, Bristol’s Cabot Circus and Meadowhall in Sheffield.

The Manchester-based business posted a 34% surge in sales to £117m in the year to March 2016, but EBITDA plunged 53% to £2.6m as it invested in marketing, technology, infrastructure and recruitment.