Group chief executive, Shop Direct Group

Mark Newton Jones

Six years after his appointment as chief executive, and Mark Newton-Jones has done what many believed was unthinkable and made Shop Direct, a company formed from the merging of two rival traditional catalogue operators, into a slick online operator. Now 70% of the home shopping giant’s revenue comes from online and it is increasingly seen as a digital leader.

It’s been an arduous battle for Newton-Jones; who has had to deal with not only a changing retail landscape but merging two companies that were sworn enemies. Merchandise and technology were overhauled, call centres and warehouses were shut and weaker brands axed since 2005.

But now the retailer is one of the biggest home shopping firms in the UK, with retail sales of over £1.4bn, and is on the verge of breaking into profit, from a £114m pre-tax loss just two years ago.

And Newton-Jones is gunning for further growth. On the back of the successful launch of young fashion brand Very, Shop Direct piloted mature women’s brand Isme in January as part of its dynamic chief executive’s plan to achieve double-digit growth this year.

The retailer is not just expanding its portfolio, it is also looking to emulate Asos’ success overseas by building its business internationally.

Newton-Jones is a popular leader, and one who has fully embraced new technology; he champions its adoption internally. The group won the Oracle Retail Week Non-Store Retailer of the Year award this year and is proving that catalogue retailers can not only survive but thrive in the new multichannel world.