Tony McGrath
08 February 2011
Many venerable U.K. brands have been getting into the ecommerce game lately, and now Marks & Spencer has announced that it will be hiring a new director in order to give its fledging ecommerce efforts an even bigger boost.
M&S has announced that Laura Wade-Gery, the head of Tesco's online business, will now be overseeing its £1 billion ecommerce strategy to bolster sales and encourage shoppers to use the internet to complement their high street shopping experience.
Wade-Gery will start with the company this summer when she leaves her post at Tesco, which is one of the largest online retailers in the U.K, selling everything from insurance to apparel to DVDs and CDs.
Marc Bolland, M&S's chief executive, told the Financial Times that the appointment is part of a strategy that the company hopes will see its online sales growing exponentially over the next few years. Bolland estimates that, if all goes according to plan, sales should grow from £400 million to between £800 million and £1 billion by fiscal year 2013-14.
M&S is a leading seller of men's, women's and children's apparel, home furnishings, technology, gifts and even food and wine.
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