Principles appoints former Bhs marketer

Principles has appointed Jane Hayman, former marketing director of Bhs and the Evening Standard, as its chief marketer.

Hayman replaces Nevine Thornton as marketing director. Thornton was looking after the brand on “an interim basis”. Hayman has been given responsibility for expanding the fashion retailer, a strategy put in place by new owner, Rubicon Retail.

Principles, Warehouse, Racing Green and Hawkshead were all sold by the Arcadia group last October for &£35m to a management buy-out team led by two former employees of the clothing group – Peter Davies and Hilary Riva.

Hayman worked with Riva at Arcadia, where she spent nine months as group marketing director before leaving to join Bhs in 1998. Hayman left Bhs last June to join Associated Newspapers, owner of the Evening Standard, where she lasted seven months before being made redundant.

Davies, former managing director of the multi-channel business unit at Arcadia, and now chief executive of Rubicon, has said that it is the Principles brand which has the most potential.

Rubicon has plans to open 20 Principles stores in towns and cities in the UK where stores were originally closed by Arcadia. The store launches form part of a wider strategy which involves Rubicon opening 100 stores across Arcadia’s brand portfolio over the next three years.

Recent reports have suggested that Rubicon is talking to trade buyers about selling the retail and mail-order clothing business Racing Green for &£5m.