Shop Direct, the UK鈥檚 largest integrated pureplay digital retailer and financial services provider, has appointed Guy Farmer as group trading director.
Farmer, currently vice president and global retail own brand director at Walgreens Boots Alliance, will join Shop Direct in September 2019 and report to Sam Perkins, MD for retail.
During eight years at WBA, Farmer has led a 155-strong multifunctional team and set up a global centre of excellence for the development of WBA鈥檚 own brand business.
Farmer has previously worked as global director for Boots cosmetics brands, trading director for healthcare & lifestyle, and trading director for beauty. Farmer previously spent 13 years at L鈥橭r茅al, progressing from marketing director to managing director and country manager for Portugal, following six years in brand and category management positions at Procter & Gamble.
Farmer鈥檚 role at Shop Direct will involve working with category directors and the director of the company鈥檚 global sourcing operation to oversee multifunctional teams including buying, merchandising, design, sourcing, data intelligence, finance and trading.
In its most recent results, group revenue at Shop Direct was up 3.7 per cent year-on-year for the seven weeks ended 28 December 2018. Additionally, the company announced that Carly O鈥橞rien, who joined the business in early 2019 and has been interim CMO since April, will take over the role permanently.
Perkins said: 鈥淕uy鈥檚 and Carly鈥檚 expertise will allow us to make big steps forward in our mission to give customers the best products and online journey, whilst helping them spread the cost.
鈥淕uy鈥檚 outstanding trading and product experience means he鈥檚 ideally placed to cement our category management approach and even further improve the speed and quality of our commercial and customer decisions.
鈥淐arly is already an integral part of the team and will use her marketing expertise to bring us closer to our customers through data and enable them to connect with our retail brands in new ways.鈥�