Senior hire for Mamas & Papas as turnaround gathers pace

NURSERY brand Mamas & Papas has brought on board a new chief marketing officer as the retailer is set to return to profit 18 months after its restructuring.  

Richard Campbell will report to Jonathon Fitzgerald, co-chief executive and will be responsible for all aspects of Mamas & Papas marketing, including brand, advertising, e-commerce, store design and communications.

He joins from Rank Group, where he was customer director for Mecca’s retail and digital operations. Earlier in his career Mr Campbell co-founded two major loyalty card programmes, Nectar and NatWest’s CashbackPlus. He also played an integral role in the revival of Debenhams, where he created award-winning advertising and sales promotions.

Derek Lovelock, executive chairman, said: “Richard is a highly experienced retailer and marketeer, and his appointment further strengthens our management team. He joins us just as the turnaround at Mamas & Papas is really gathering pace and he will play a key role in delivering our exciting and ambitious growth plans.”

Mr Campbell added: “Mamas & Papas is an iconic and much-loved brand. I’m really looking forward to working with the team to broaden and deepen our relationship with customers and develop new and imaginative ways of engaging with them.”

News of Mr Campbell’s appointment follows a record Christmas for Mamas & Papas which saw like-for-like sales grow by 18% in the six weeks to January 3 2016.

The business also returned to profit in the second half of last year after a successful restructuring.

Mamas & Papas was acquired by BlueGem Capital Partners in 2014 and operates in 59 countries, has 34 stores in the UK and employs 1245 people.

As part of the restructure, a new four-year loan facility was also secured with HSBC to support Mamas & Papas’ investment plans. These include the opening of a flagship store in the Westfield shopping centre in White City, London, and the launch of a new e-commerce platform in 2016.

See also: 

Record period for Mamas & Papas caps a difficult year