John Lewis appoints trading director
John Lewis has appointed Simon Coble to the position of trading director.
Due to take up the role in January, Coble will join the John Lewis management board and report into the department store chain’s managing director Paula Nickolds.
His responsibilities will include leadership of the trading team, which includes the buying and merchandising teams.
Coble will be joining the business from The Body Shop where he was managing director UK but extended his responsibilities to Europe and North America at the end of 2016. His current position is zone managing director for Europe.
His previous roles include chief executive of Uniqlo and a range of positions at Arcadia.
Nickolds said: “I am really delighted that Simon will be joining us. It is an important appointment for us as we continue to reinvent John Lewis and put the customer at the heart of everything we do from the design of our truly unique own brand ranges to the experiences we offer our customers that they cannot get anywhere else. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.”
Following the appointment, Ed Connolly, who has been leading the trading function on an interim basis while a recruitment process took place, will take up a newly created role of director, partnership strategy reporting to Patrick Lewis, group finance director. In his new position, he will be responsible for shaping and developing the long-term direction and sustainability of the John Lewis Partnership, working directly with the executive team.
Connolly previously worked for three years as the John Lewis buying director for fashion.
