Ladbrokes overhauls structure to become customer-centric
Ladbrokes is to overhaul the way its business is set up in a bid to be more responsive to the changing needs of customers.
The bookmaker currently has three business units that oversee its retail, telephone and online betting services but is expected to switch to a less siloed approach that focuses on customers, channels and products.
The restructure is the latest move by chief executive Richard Glynn to close the gap on rival William Hill by improving the products and services it offers customers.
Glynn brought in former Thomas Cook and Sainsbury’s marketer Stephen Vowles last year to oversee a just centralised marketing department, setup to try and improve customer experience.
In February, the company vowed to invest £50m on brand marketing, online betting enhancements and improvements to its retail estate.
Vowles, according to the Financial Times, will oversee customer experience in the new setup, while responsibility for products is expected to be handed to Richard Ames. It is thought that current retail boss Nick Rust will manage channels.
Online boss Gary McIlraith is to leave after less than a year in the job.
A Ladbrokes spokesman said that an internal announcement on the company’s new structure would be made next week that would see a move away from the “historic retail, digital, telephone structure and a move to one that puts the customer at the centre of what we do”.
Ladbrokes’ net revenue rose 1.3% to £976.6m last year, while William Hill saw net revenue climb 7% to £1.1bn.
