He made his mark at M&S and Carphone Warehouse. Now Matt Stringer has been promoted to become Mark Newton-Jones’ right-hand man at Mothercare.

Matt Stringer laughs when I ask if he’s been putting in long hours at Mothercare, the embattled high street specialist which has faced increased pressure in recent years, particularly from the supermarkets. “It’s been full-on,” says Mothercare’s newly promoted chief operating officer, now second in command to the gregarious Mark Newton-Jones. “It’s a great business and has been in a bit of a mess but now we’re turning it around. It’s a tough job.”

But in Stringer Mothercare has found a safe pair of hands. The Bristol University graduate is widely regarded as solid leader with strong retail experience to boot. After university he kicked off his retail life at Marks & Spencer as a merchandising trainee. Since then Stringer has racked up 22 years working in retail, apart from a five-year stint as a senior manager at Accenture’s retail practice for the UK and Ireland.

Headhunter Moira Benigson believes Stringer’s time at Accenture gave him excellent experience but he’s ultimately a “stores man”. She adds: “It was part of his development rather than for his career.”

But consulting to retailers such as House of Fraser, Dixons and WHSmith wasn’t long-lasting, and Stringer hankered after a return to retail.

Passion for merchandise


After five years with Accenture, he returned to his true passion - general merchandise – back at Marks & Spencer, just as Stuart Rose returned as chief executive.

In his first year back with the mighty high street stalwart, Stringer stood in as the interim womenswear director before Kate Bostock arrived to re-engineer the business’s buying processes in textiles and homeware as part of its turnaround plan. It was this new programme that Stringer highlights as one of his proudest moments in his career so far. 

After three years in general merchandise, Stringer’s wider potential was recognised. He was quickly promoted to head of international operations before quickly rising up the ranks to become international operations director.

His strong leadership skills were quickly noted and after just over a year in the role, he was hired as managing director at Carphone Warehouse. It was a new section of the industry for Stringer but during his two years at the mobile phone retailer he implemented its ‘Wireless World’ store format, which featured a wider range of electronics than its standard stores.

But after several years and just before a company restructure, Stringer moved to Mothercare, a return to a sector he was more immersed in. It is thought that his strong multichannel experience proved attractive to Mothercare,which had identified the area as central to its turnaround plan.

“His real strength is in general merchandising more than technology,” says Benigson, who adds that former Mothercare boss Simon Calver brought him in to help turn around the business after recognising his strong multichannel experience at Carphone Warehouse. “He’s fantastic at multichannel retail,” she adds.

Stringer is well-regarded in the industry. Benigson describes him as “very bright and very strategic” and adds that his skills complement Mark Newton Jones’s. “Mark has a big personality whereas Matt gets things done. They’re a great combination.”

So how would Stringer describe himself? “A good communicator, someone with a good sense of humour, intelligent and able to see the bigger picture,” he says.

But he’s far more than that - having managed thousands of staff, refitted 250 stores at Carphone Warehouse, helped change the buying processes at M&S and headed its international arm, one of his key strengths is his sheer breadth of experience.

In his new role at Mothercare Stringer will be responsible for information technology, retail operations, logistics and distribution, property, wholesale and business development. His role is part of a restructure of the retailer’s executive management team into a more digitally led company.

The other changes include the appointment of Gary Kibble as group brand and marketing director and group merchandising director Karl Doyle – another M&S staffer - being promoted to group buying and merchandising director.

Outside of retail Stringer spends time with his high-flying lawyer wife and teenage son and daughter, down at Bath Rugby’s ground The Rec, and keeps his intellect and knowledge in check with lots of history and politics reading.

One thing’s for sure: Stringer has a tough job on his hands at Mothercare, but it’s one he’s certainly equipped enough to tackle.

CV

2015 to present: Chief operating officer, Mothercare

2013 to 2015 : Commercial Director, Mothercare

2010 to 2012: Managing director of Carphone Warehouse in UK

2003 to 2009: Held various roles at Marks & Spencer including international operations director and head of GM stock management and new buying

1998 to 2003: Senior manager in retail practice UK and Ireland, Accenture

1989 to 1998: Joined Marks & Spencer graduate scheme in merchandising and climbed up the ladder to become merchandise manager of women’s knitwear