Thresher boss defects to B&Q
Thresher Group sales and marketing director Kevin Styles is leaving to join DIY retailer B&Q as director of format development. He starts at his new company after Christmas and will report to Kingfisher group commercial chief executive and B&Q commercial managing director George Adams.
Styles held board-level positions at Thresher and also in his previous job as marketing director at Thomas Cook. However, his post at B&Q does not carry board-level responsibility.
Styles left Thomas Cook to join Thresher – then called First Quench – in March 2002 (MW January 17, 2002). He has also worked for Sainsbury’s and Thomson Holidays.
He recently appointed Heresy to the &£1m advertising campaign for Thresher’s new retail concept, threshers+food (MW September 16). The retailer developed the convenience store format after buying the Leapingsalmon food brand last year.
Styles also developed the marketing strategy for Thresher’s own-label wine brand Origin, which sources its wines from across the world and is not allied to a single country, product or region (MW February 20, 2003).
B&Q recently appointed WPP Group-owned contract publisher Forward Publishing to produce a customer magazine. WPP’s sister agency J Walter Thompson handles B&Q’s &£42m ad account.
