Littlewoods Retail promotes senior marketer to lead e-commerce arm

Littlewoods Retail has promoted director of high street marketing Greg Ball to lead its Internet push as marketing director of e-commerce, following the loss of Ajay Kavan to B&Q earlier this month.

Ball, the company’s most senior stores and catalogue marketer after marketing director Susan Murray, has already taken up his role working alongside Kavan, who leaves at the end of the month to become director of direct channels at BBQ.

The move comes as Littlewoods announces its roll-out of its IndexShop Website, which was tested in 27 stores last December, to its 160 Index stores. The decision means IndexShop, which sells the full 7,000 product range of Index stores on the Web, will be promoted throughout the chain.

A spokeswoman says: “The trial has been a massive success.”

Stores marketing manager Jim Shannon will replace Ball in the new role of director of sales and marketing.

Littlewoods is launching its clothing catalogue range IndexExtra in a soft-trial this March. Its full launch is planned for July.

Agency talks over an umbrella brand campaign for Littlewoods’ retail operations, worth an estimated £10m, are also underway. An appointment, possibly without a pitch, is expected within four weeks.