Fenwick has recruited a new buying and merchandising director from Soho House, Retail Week can reveal.

Jayne Demuro joined Fenwick in the newly created role this month.

Before her stint as retail managing director at Soho House, Demuro spent 12 years at Selfridges, during which she led the beauty division and was latterly buying director of home and beauty.

Demuro is the first hire under new chief executive Robbie Feather and represents another step in Fenwick’s ongoing external hiring spree.

Since appointing former Co-op boss Richard Pennycook as chairman, Fenwick has made a number of key outside appointments to replace family members, most notably Feather.

The upmarket department store is currently navigating the challenges of that market.

Last year, it suffered a fall in full-year profits as markdowns and investments in its digital capabilities dented its bottom line.

The department store business said pre-tax profit dropped 31.2% to £30.4m in the year ending January 27.

However, the business was “encouraged” that gross sales remained relatively flat at £426.3m despite the ongoing shift in consumer behaviour from buying products to spending on experience.