Mark Lewis, chief executive of parcel delivery service Collect+, snared one of the most sought after roles in ecommerce last week when he was unveiled as John Lewis’ new online director.

However, the department store has not done too badly out of the deal either. Lewis is one of the UK’s most experienced online operators. While he started his career in advertising, he spent six years with eBay, eventually leading the etail giant’s European business.

In Lewis’ time at the etailer, where he started as head of seller activation before taking charge of the UK business, the self-confessed eBay addict helped the site retain its place as the UK’s most visited website.

EBay was a pioneer in online retail in the UK and was many consumers’ first ecommerce experience. It paved the way for the likes of John Lewis to develop a bustling online business, which now accounts for a quarter of its revenue.

John Lewis managing director Andy Street says: “Mark is ideally placed to continue the growth and development of our online business. He brings insight and experience of the retail sector and will be driving further innovation across both our website and omnichannel offer.”

Consultant Ecommera chief executive Michael Ross agrees that Lewis, who starts on March 4, is the right man to help the department store’s already well-developed ecommerce sales grow further.

He says: “He’s one of the stars of the retail landscape. The challenge of continually growing a multichannel business requires a combination of skills which he has.  You need to be very, very good at analysing data but you need to concentrate less on the channel and more about the customer.”

Lewis’ top-notch data skills are evidenced by his first class maths degree from Cambridge University. He decided to use his skills in the world of advertising after graduating from university, leading campaigns for the likes of HSBC, HM Treasury and Teletext.

However, after completing his MBA at Insead business school in Paris – which solidified his love for all things French – he switched sectors, joining Boston Consulting Group’s retail and consumer team.

The job must have turned Lewis onto retail, because three years later he was working for eBay, before heading up parcel collection serviceCollect+.

Ross says that it is Lewis’ most recent experience as Collect+ chief executive that gives him an enviously well-rounded CV, perfect for his John Lewis role.

“There aren’t many people who have run a business the size of eBay and have such an understanding of fulfilment,” he says. “Fulfilment is the most important but least understood part of the jigsaw of excellent end-to-end customer experience.”

Lewis has helped Collect+ grow into many a retailers’ secret weapon. The take-up of the service, which allows retailers to use the distribution firm’s network of 4,500 local shops as pick-up points for online deliveries, has surged as click-and-collect increasingly becomes the norm for pure play and multichannel retailers alike.

It has given the likes of Asos, Amazon and Littlewoods owner Shop Direct a physical presence, giving customers a place to easily pick-up and return items, while upping the convenience factor for multichannel operators such as Oasis owner Aurora Fashions and House of Fraser.

Click-and-collect has been a big driver of John Lewis’ online growth. The department store has benefitted from its tie-up with Waitrose, with customers able to collect online orders with their weekly grocery shop.

Lewis, with his strong fulfilment background, will undoubtedly be eyeing new innovations to make its online proposition even more convenient for the customer.