Joules Group plc Appointment of CEO (3534Y)

TIDMJOUL

RNS Number : 3534Y

Joules Group plc

08 May 2019

Joules Group PLC

("Joules" or the "Group")

Appointment of CEO

Joules, the British lifestyle brand, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Jones as the Company's new Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). Nick will be joining from Asda where, as a member of the Executive Board, he is responsible for the performance of the grocer's Trading Divisions across Food, General Merchandise and George.

Nick brings 25 years' experience from working with two of the UK's best-known retail brands: Marks & Spencer and Asda. He joined the M&S graduate scheme in 1995 working across functions including buying & merchandising, sourcing and investor relations. After 15 years with M&S, latterly as Director of Home, Beauty and Gifts, Nick joined Asda in 2011 to run the George clothing brand. As Commercial Director, George and General Merchandise, Nick has driven innovation and digital transformation across Asda's clothing and homeware businesses. His leadership mandate was expanded last year to include food as well as clothing and home.

Today's news follows the Group's announcement on 1 April 2019 that, after eight years in the business, Colin Porter had given notice of his intention to retire before the end of the Group's FY20 financial year. Nick will start at Joules before the end of 2019 and, following a short handover period, Colin will then step down.

Ian Filby, Non-Executive Chairman of Joules, commented:

"On behalf of the Board and everyone at Joules, I am thrilled to welcome Nick as our next CEO. Nick's extensive retail, brand and strategy credentials, as well as a clear alignment with the Joules values, made him the outstanding candidate for the role.

Nick will join an exceptional management team and the Board has every confidence in their abilities to lead Joules through the next stages of the Group's long-term growth and development."

Nick Jones commented:

"I am delighted to be joining Joules at such an exciting time in the company's development. I have long admired Joules for its distinctive brand, its outstanding products and designs, and its connection with its customers.

Whilst the business and brand has achieved fantastic growth over recent years, I share the Board's view that there are tremendous growth opportunities ahead, driven, in particular, by further international expansion and online growth.

I have been impressed by the talent, energy and dedication of the people at Joules that I've met so far, and I'm looking forward to working with the wider team to deliver the Group's growth strategy - building on its strong foundations to further develop Joules as an international lifestyle brand."

Appendix:

   --     Nick's full name is Nicholas David George Jones and he is 46 years old 

-- Nick's current directorships and partnerships include: Asda Group Limited; International Procurement and Logistics Limited; George Tedarik Hizmetleri Anonim irketi (a Turkish legal entity); and Oakham School

   --     Past directorships in the last five years include:  George Sourcing Services UK Limited 

There are no further disclosures to be made in connection with the AIM Rules for Companies in connection with this appointment.

Enquiries:

 
 Joules Group plc                   Tel: [phone] 
 Colin Porter, CEO 
  Marc Dench, CFO 
 Hudson Sandler (Financial PR)      Tel: [phone] 
 Alex Brennan 
  Lucy Wollam 
 Peel Hunt LLP, Nominated Advisor   Tel: [phone] 
 Dan Webster 
  George Sellar 
  Guy Pengelley 
 Liberum Capital Limited            Tel: [phone] 
 John Fishley 
  Edward Thomas 
 

Joules - 'a premium lifestyle brand with an authentic British heritage'

Established in Britain by Tom Joule three decades ago, Joules is a premium lifestyle brand with an authentic heritage.

A true multi-channel lifestyle brand, Joules carefully designs and sells clothing, accessories and homeware for women, men and children, with personality to match the colourful and uplifting outlooks of its growing community of customers. Its products are available through its own retail stores, online, rural shows and events and wholesale channels.

Quality, Britishness, family values, colour and humour make Joules stand out from the crowd. This approach, along with an unwavering attention to detail, and drive to surprise and delight its customers with unexpected product details, has been central to the brand's success and expansion and remains at the heart of everything Joules creates.

www.joules.com | www.joulesgroup.com

Joules Fast Facts

-- Joules is an international brand, available in the UK, USA, Germany, France and other markets

-- Joules operates 123* stores in the UK and ROI across a range of location types, has a significant online business and a well-established wholesale business with over 2,000 stockists worldwide, including John Lewis and Nordstrom

-- Joules' talented in-house artists lovingly hand-draw all the prints and unexpected unique details you see within its collections each season

-- Joules is proud of its British heritage and is still firmly rooted in Market Harborough, the site of its first shop and head office

-- Colin Porter joined as COO in 2010 and became CEO in September 2015, with Tom Joule focusing on the creative side of the business in his capacity as Chief Brand Officer

-- Joules recently won the Best Licensed Fashion or Talent Brand Award and the Best Licensed Gifting Product Award at the 2019 Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Award (B&LLA)

-- Joules received a Mark of Excellence commendation for The Best Fashion Retailer at the 2018 and 2019 Retail Week Awards

-- Joules won Fashion Retail Business of the Year (between GBP101m and GBP500m turnover) for the second year in a row at the Drapers Awards 2018. The Group also won the Drapers Mainstream Brand of the Year in both 2017 and 2016, and Best British Fashion Retailer of the Year in 2015

-- In February 2019, Joules was rated the number one company in Retail Week's 'Top 10 best retailers to work for in the UK' based on Glassdoor rankings

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May 08, 2019 04:07 ET (08:07 GMT)