Americana drafts in Umbro marketer

Americana, the clothing company that owns the brands Bench and Hooch, has appointed Umbro marketer Rob Griffiths as the new head of marketing and product.

Griffiths has been brought in as part of a board management shake-up at Americana, as the company prepares for a major global expansion drive.

Mike Metcalf, the former chief operating officer of Burberry Group has been named chairman and former Marks & Spencer executive director, Maurice Helfgott is a non-executive director.

Other senior management appointments include Phil Emmerson, also from Umbro, as head of operations and Patrick Nebiolo from Italian brand Guru, as international director. All the new appointees will work alongside Peter McGuigan, who recently joined Americana as chief executive officer, again from Umbro.

Americana says international growth is the major focus for both the Bench and Hooch labels, along with brand strengthening. It is thought that the company is seeking to build on its brands’ success in Germany over the past two years and expand its presence throughout Europe in particular.

The strategy follows a £190m management buy-out in March this year, backed by private equity house, HgCapital.