B&Q marketing chief to exit
B&Q is on the hunt for a new board-level marketing director after Katherine Paterson announced she is to step down.
In an internal memo to staff, chief executive of the Kingfisher-owned DIY range Martyn Phillips says that Paterson has decided to “move on to take up opportunities elsewhere”. She will leave in the next few week, the company says.
It is not known if she has a job to go to.
Phillips went to stress that marketing will continue to be represented on the board. Brand director David Hutchinson will oversee the marketing team on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.
Paterson joined B&Q just two years ago. She is credited with overhauling the chain’s pricing structure to remove the “complicated” legacy promotional structure, overseeing the launch of a raft of own-label lines and the recently introduced “I did that” advertising positioning.
The initiatives have yet to translate to sales. Sales from B&Q stores open for a year or more fell 6% to £2bn in the six months to 28 July.
Prior to B&Q, Paterson spent 11 years as marketing communications director at Asda.
