Womenswear retailer Hobbs has appointed former ASOS global marketing director Clare Dobbie to its newly created marketing director role.

In her role, Dobbie will spearhead brand development as she leads the Hobbs brand, marketing and online teams, while driving international expansion plans.

Last week Hobbs announced it was investing £18m to drive multichannel. It is planning to launch localised websites in 10 countries, which will be supported by a bricks-and-mortar presence through local concessions, trading partners and eventually flagship stores.

Speaking about the appointment, Hobbs chief executive Nicky Dulieu said: “We are delighted that Clare has joined the team at Hobbs and her appointment underlines our commitment to realise the full potential of the Hobbs brands.

“We look forward to her helping achieve our multichannel and international ambition, and to further develop our British contemporary designer fashion heritage.”

In her two years at online fashion retailer Asos, Dobbie headed up an 80-strong marketing team, driving its global brand and where she building a fully integrated in-house creative team. Dobbie also previously worked at Gap as vice-president of marketing for Europe where she helped launched Banana Republic in London.