Salisbury’s in marketer hunt

Salisbury’s, the 350-store fashion retail group which includes Sock Shop, Torq and Red or Dead, is looking for a group marketing director to manage its growing portfolio of retail and consumer brands.

Entrepreneur Stephen Hinchliffe bought luggage and handbag chain Salisbury’s from Signet last summer for an estimated knock-down price of £3.2m. He has since added the Sock Shop, costume jewellery chain Torq and fashion chain Red or Dead to his burgeoning empire. He has also acquired Colibri, the lighter, pen and accessory brand.

The marketing director will work across the brands, and is expected to carry out a full review of advertising strategy, which could lead to the appointment of new agencies.

Hinchliffe says the director could come from an fmcg background or from retail marketing. But he adds: “It is not so normal to have a marketing director in retail, but all chains will have strong marketing departments in the future – they needed the customer impact.”

Salisbury’s last week hired Signet’s finance director Gary O’Brien, chief executive officer for the group, which has a turnover of more than £150m and 2,500 employees.