Home Fashion M&S poaches the head of clothing at Tesco

M&S poaches the head of clothing at Tesco

Marks and Spencer is rumoured to have poached the head of clothing at Tesco to boost the revival of its fashion business. M&S chief Stuart Rose has been in talks with Tesco's Terry Green - a friend and former colleague - for months, according to reports yesterday. 'They initially met to discuss the job just after Christmas,' said the source. Two further meetings, with M&S senior management, took place more recently. The loss of Green will be a bitter blow to Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy. Just last November, Green set out ambitious plans for Tesco to topple High Street fashion giants M&S, Next and Topshop. Mr Green is said to have met M&S senior management a number of times this year to discuss a job. His loss would be a big blow to Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy who has been building the company's clothing lines. Now Rose has poached the 56-year-old fashion industry veteran to help consolidate M&S's position as the country's favourite clothing retailer. Green, who intends to hand in his notice to Leahy this week, is in Hong Kong, watching a rugby union tournament and was unavailable for comment. Rose plans to put Green in charge of clothing. He will oversee Kate Bostock, director of womenswear, her menswear counterpart Julian Kilmartin and lingerie director Matthew Hudson. Sources say the move is expected to mean a substantial pay rise for Green. Rose, who was pipped to the top job at Debenhams by Green when the pair worked together at Burtons in the Nineties, has long been impressed by his former colleague's record at Topshop, Debenhams and, most recently, Tesco. 'M&S plans to introduce some trendier ranges, particularly for young women, to tap into Topshop's success,' said a source, adding that Green's appointment was seen as pivotal to orchestrating the changes. Green is a consultant at Tesco and not on the main board, so is expected to be able to move to M&S relatively swiftly. He joined the supermarket chain in September 2005, just eight months after presiding over the collapse of department store group Allders with the loss of 1,000 jobs. At the time, many feared it might mean the end of his career at the pinnacle of UK fashion retailing. But Rose firmly believes Green's troubles are behind him. He wants a trusted lieutenant Tesco chief defects by his side after the departure in February last year of his friend Charles Wilson, who left to join cash-and-carry chain Booker. M&S has been plagued by rumours of other high-level departures. Andrew Moore, the 49-year-old director of general merchandising, left in February and Anthony Thompson, M&S's retail director, was said to be looking at his options. Thompson, however, has so far been persuaded to stay.

 

< Prev		Next >