Zoom in hunt for first head of marketing

Zoom, the Internet portal jointly-owned by clothing group Arcadia and Associated Newspapers, is looking for its first marketing director.

Arcadia launched the venture in June with the hope of reviving its fading fortunes. Associated subsequently bought a stake in Zoom in July.

The appointee will have responsibility for developing what Zoom offers, which currently includes Internet access, free e-mail and chat room services and connections with charlotte street.com – the women’s Website owned by Associated.

Arcadia declined to comment on whether the appointee will review Zoom’s advertising, handled by Leo Burnett, Starcom IP and Carat. It claims to have spent &£10m on launching the site last year, but will not say how much it plans to spend on advertising this year.

An Arcadia spokesman says: “I can confirm Zoom is looking for its first marketing director. However, we are not prepared to talk about budgets.”

Arcadia, which owns retailers such as Miss Selfridge, Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins, has witnessed falling sales growth and a stalled share price as high-street competition has increased.

However, Zoom has established itself as a major player on the Web by offering a wide variety of clothing stores and fast links to other e-commerce sites provided by retailers such as Carphone Warehouse and HMV.