Go Outdoors has poached Halfords digital boss Jon Asbury as its first multichannel director.

Asbury, whose start date is not known, spent 14 years at Halfords, where he was responsible for the design and launch of its website. Asbury spent his early career at WH Smith, Do It All and Woolworths.

Go Outdoors has been on a hiring spree recently. It brought in former Focus DIY finance chief and Tesco veteran Chris Morgan as chief financial officer and Tesco director Dan Quinn joined as commercial director.

Asbury’s appointment is part of the fast-growing retailer’s online growth. It plans to focus on international online sales.

Go Outdoors chief operating officer Lee Bagnall said: “This appointment represents a message of intent to the outdoor retail sector. We expect to lead online outdoor sales.”

Chairman of the retailer Colin Holmes said: “Go Outdoors is committed to being the best outdoor retailer to shop in store, at home or even whilst outdoors.”

Go Outdoors is one of many outdoors specialists focusing on multichannel. Snow+Rock head of multichannel David Kohn said it is pushing online sales as growth in stores plateaus. It is launching click-and-collect imminently and will debut same-day delivery later this year.

Meanwhile, Cotswold Outdoors is investing in location-based marketing to attract mobile shoppers.