Upmarket Hong Kong fashion retailer Lane Crawford has appointed two new senior executives to fill newly created positions designed to drive the company’s growth in China stores, and its global e-commerce expansion.
Lane Crawford president Andrew Keith said the new roles underline the company’s strategic focus on omni-channel retailing.
Andrea O’Donnell will join Lane Crawford as executive director, commencing September 3. In this role, she will report directly to Keith and take responsibility for merchandising, marketing, store strategy and planning.
O’Donnell joins Lane Crawford from John Lewis in London, where as commercial director she delivered the retailer’s successful multi-channel strategy and opened eight new stores.
Sebastian Picardo will join Lane Crawford as executive VP business development & online on August 6. In this capacity, he will report directly to Keith and oversee Lane Crawford’s e-commerce business, working with O’Donnell to drive an omni-channel strategy, synergizing the retail and online channels in Greater China.
Picardo joins Lane Crawford from Burberry where he most recently served as MD – digital commerce based in the London headquarters. Prior to that he transformed and integrated the brand’s Spanish operations into the global business as MD – operations at Burberry Spain.
“As Asia’s first omni-channel multi-brand fashion retailer, delivering the ultimate in customer experience is at the centre of our strategy. Both Andrea and Sebastian bring extensive knowledge from companies leading the way in omni-channel retailing. Their skills combined with our innovation and Asian market leadership will enable us to deliver a seamless and dynamic retail experience for our customers both in China and globally,” Keith said in a statement.
The announcement comes on the back of a landmark financial year to March 31, in which the retailer booked record-breaking revenue of US$700 million, with comp store growth of 23 per cent.
Lane Crawford will open a China flagship in Shanghai, its largest at 150,000sqft in the second half of 2013. It represents a new Lane Crawford store model with integrated technology to enhance customer experiences, an elevated service model and new F&B concepts, creating a complete lifestyle destination.
Through continued expansion, the retailer expects to increase its total retail square footage by 35 per cent in the next three years.
“With more than 160 years of heritage we are committed to further growing our position as Asia’s leading specialty department store. Our strategic investment in both physical store expansion and e-commerce allows us to broaden the scope of our customer service platform in the rapidly expanding and increasingly sophisticated Chinese market,” said Keith.
Lane Crawford is Asia’s leading specialty department store, offering the largest assortment of international designer brands across Womenswear, Lingerie, Menswear, Shoes & Accessories, Jewellery, Cosmetics and Home & Lifestyle. It has four stores in Hong Kong, one in Beijing and an online store at www.lanecrawford.com . Lane Crawford is part of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, Asia’s premier fashion and brand management group, including multi-brand retailers JOYCE and The Pedder Group, and management and distribution arm, ImagineX. The Lane Crawford Joyce Group operates more than 500 points of sale across Greater China and South East Asia.
