Merloni recruits ex-Sony man as UK chief
White goods company Merloni, which owns the Ariston and Indesit brands, has appointed former Sony marketing manager Charlie Jones as its UK marketing director.
He replaces Nigel Grasham, who left the company more than a year ago. Jones will join a newly structured management team headed by managing director John McDarren, who was hired by Merloni last July.
Merloni, which is to spend 5.5m in the UK this year advertising its Indesit and Ariston brands, and retains DMB&B. Indesit is the number two brand in the UK after Hotpoint and has 14 per cent of the washing machine market.
Merloni is hoping to adopt a more brand-led approach to its advertising in the white goods market, which is growing by about six per cent year on year.
Jones was most recently group marketing manager for home and audio visual products for Sony UK.