Chief executive, Shop Direct Group

Newton-Jones is transforming the Liverpool-based Shop Direct Group into an online business and away from its catalogue roots, though he has said he can’t imagine a day in the next 10 years when the company won’t publish catalogues anymore.

Newton-Jones has worked hard on its Littlewoods and Very brands relying on large scale advertising and marketing campaigns to spread the word many retailers can with their stores. He is now looking at an area competitor N Brown dominates, the over 50s, with the re-branding of its Kays, Marshall Ward and Empire brands under one banner planned for next year.

There was some talk of Shop Direct allowing chosen partners to use the Woolworths brand it bought out of administration to open stores. This is yet to come to fruition, and so Shop Direct remains very much focused on the online channel as its growth engine.