All change across the retail sector as two fashion bosses step down from Asos and Karen Millen, and Fat Faces makes promotions.

Nick Robertson

Move of the month…

…actually occurred early in September, but I hope you’ll forgive me for nominating Nick Robertson’s departure from Asos as the most eye-catching move in a period thin on chief executive changes.

Robertson has done an exceptional job in taking Asos from a new fashion concept to a multibillion pound etailer – and long-time stockmarket darling – in a mere decade and a half, and while there have been a few wobbles of late his status as one of retail’s leading entrepreneurs is surely assured.

What Robertson does next will be fascinating to see. He will remain as a non-executive director at Asos and an adviser to close friend and new chief executive Nick Beighton but will that prove a sufficient occupation for a man who has lived and breathed fast fashion for so many years?

It’s hard to see someone with Robertson’s entrepreneurial streak taking a conventional top job at another retailer. Perhaps more likely is a career as an investor and mentor, a route often favoured by entrepreneurs such as new Dragons’ Den star and Moonpig founder Nick Jenkins.

And don’t rule out a return to Asos in the future if the business does not deliver on shareholder expectations under the hugely competent Beighton, who has been groomed for the top job having served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer under Robertson.

  • For a comprehensive list of retail moves in August, see the table on the right.

Surprise exit…

…for Mike Shearwood, another early-September departee following his failed attempt to buy Karen Millen.

The well-respected Shearwood has led the retailer since its split from Aurora Fashions in 2011 and was known to harbour ambitions of leading a buy-out of the business; a move that it appears has ultimately been rejected by investors.

With his deep retail knowledge and strong track record it surely will not be long before Shearwood resurfaces in a leading role.

All change at…

Tesco’s clothing arm F&F where chief executive Richard Collins is stepping down to be replaced by former BHS chief Richard Price. Price left BHS in February following two and a half years in the role prior to which he worked as menswear trading director at M&S.

Collins leaves Tesco after almost a decade with the retailer having joined as store director for clothing operations and worked his way up through numerous clothing and general merchandise positions to become chief executive of F&F last September.

Promotion of the month…

…for Fat Face’s Mark Seager for whom the new role of multichannel director has been created. Seager’s promotion from the position of ecommerce and marketing director is part of Fat Face boss Anthony Thompson’s plan to grow the brand’s online presence.

Thompson has also promoted retail and property director Simon Greene to the position of international and property director, which will see Greene concentrate on driving US growth.

Tony’s trends

The civil service is often maligned for its inability to attract the top talent but two moves in the past month show that this characterisation is increasingly outdated.

With the Co-op’s appointment of the Government’s chief data officer and executive director of digital Mike Bracken to oversee its digital operations and House of Fraser’s announcement that the Ministry of Justice’s former head of digital Mark Madden will join the business as chief digital officer in October, two of retail’s big guns have looked to the public sector to fill vacancies that the private sector was unable to fill.

The appointments point to two trends: first, that there is a shortage of digital talent within the UK retail sector, and second, as a recruiter, searching for talent is becoming increasingly about knowing functional areas as well as sector areas.

Bracken is the man responsible for the transformation of the Government’s digital services through the Gov.uk websites, which have won widespread acclaim for their simplicity and navigability.

Would he have been identified in a conventional retail search? The answer is almost certainly, no.

The Anthony Gregg Partnership

Tony Gregg is chief executive of the Anthony Gregg Partnership. Founded in 2003 and located in Henley-in-Arden and London,The Anthony Gregg Partnership specialises in the consumer search market space.