White Stuff has appointed Practicology chief executive Martin Newman as a non-executive director with effect from September 1.

White Stuff has hired Martin Newman for his online and multichannel retailing expertise. At his Practicology consultancy Newman advises clients including House of Fraser and Ted Baker.

The clothing retailer is steadily building its multichannel offer and at Christmas posted a 7.3% like-for-like sales increase on the back of online sales jumping 52.9% fro the 10 weeks to January 4.

Newman’s appointment comes as Alastair Kerr steps down as non-executive director of White Stuff after almost six years at the business.

Newman already sits on the board of Conviviality Retail, the advisory board of Wiggle and is a digital adviser to Breast Cancer Care.

White Stuff chairman Debbie Hewitt said: “He has an impeccable track record of developing multichannel businesses and is renowned for bringing sharp customer insight to the businesses that he works with.

“His experience will enable him to make an immediate contribution to the company and accelerate our progress in online.”

Newman, who has been listed in Retail Week’s top 50 Etail Power List for the past four years, said: “There is a significant opportunity to develop both the multichannel offering and internationalisation of the business and I am looking forward to working with all of the White Stuff team to deliver that growth.”