Marks & Spencer appoints all-women team for UK expansion
Marks & Spencer, a global luxury brand, has announced the appointment of an all-women team for its upcoming stores across the United Kingdom.
The all-women leadership team for the company includes Emily King & Naomi Hartley for the Birmingham Bullring store, Justine Brook for Leeds White Rose shopping centre, Kirsty Williams for the Liverpool ONE store, Laura Smith for Manchester’s Trafford Centre, and Dior Hudson for Lakeside Centre.
This all-women team will lead more than 1,000 employees across the company. In addition, the company is also launching a work culture initiative to support a better work-life balance and attract new talent in the industry. The initiative will promote various work arrangements, whether full-time, part-time, a four-day work week, or a nine-day fortnightly schedule.
Naomi, who will be co-leading the Birmingham Bullring store alongside Emily, expressed, “It feels great to know that M&S is supporting me to do this – and that they’ve put their faith in Emily and me to open the new Birmingham Bullring store. It is one of M&S’s biggest new stores, so we feel privileged to be chosen for such a significant role. And yes, there’s a little apprehension when thinking about the job ahead, but we remind ourselves that we have the experience of working together to make this a big success.” Both Emily and Naomi are currently co-store managers in Solihull; this was their first job-share role after serving for 18 years at the company.
Justine, who served the company for 30 years and held roles in 27 different stores, including Regional Manager in the Midlands, said, “Leading the new Leeds White Rose store opening has been an amazing moment for me. M&S started in Leeds where the business was founded in 1884 on a stall in Kirkgate market. And Leeds is also where I got my start at M&S on a youth training scheme in 1986, so it feels like a full-circle moment. I’ve had many incredible experiences since then, but I have to say that opening day in Leeds was the proudest day of my career so far! I’m an active ally of the M&S Gender Equality Network, and we believe that the Worklife options are a great step forward.”
Kirsty, who will be leading the new Liverpool ONE store and joined the company over 10 years ago, said, “To get the chance to come back to M&S and jump straight into opening a brand-new store right in the heart of Liverpool city centre – it’s a chance to make a real impact. It’s the kind of thing I know I’ll look back on in ten or twenty years and say, ‘I led the team that opened that shop.’ It’s something to be proud of and that motivates me to work hard and ensure the store is the best it can be.”
Laura started her career with the company at the young age of 16 as part of a management trainee programme. After 25 years of serving the company, she has now been elevated to the leadership role for Manchester’s Trafford Centre. Expressing her excitement, she said, “Leading the team to open this new store in the Trafford Centre is an amazing opportunity and my dream job. I think I’m most excited about how much the in-store offerings will improve for our customers. The Foodhall is almost doubling in size, and we’ll have the space for a wide range of Clothing, Home & Beauty products.”
Dior, who will be completing 10 years at the company while leading the new store at Lakeside Centre in Thurrock, Essex, commented, “Having the opportunity to open my first major large store last year in Stevenage was a huge milestone in my career at M&S. It’s always a steep but rewarding learning curve when you do a job like that for the first time. Opening the new store in Lakeside will be a new, exciting challenge, and it’s great that this time, there are five other store managers to go on this journey with me. It’s great to have that support system and be able to learn from each other’s experiences, as every store is different and has its challenges and rewards.”