UK-based footwear retailer Schuh has named Laura King as its new chief marketing officer.
In her new role, King will lead the marketing, creative, visual merchandising, brand partnerships, purpose, public relations, talent and community departments at the Genesco-owned retailer. She joins the existing five members of the leadership team, including Colin Temple, president of Schuh.
“In an increasingly demanding and fast-paced market, the focus on creating inspiring brand experiences and storytelling for our customers is paramount,” Temple said in a statement. “I am delighted to have Laura as part of my leadership team, bringing deep marketing expertise that will be key to sustaining schuh’s momentum and growth.”
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King joins Schuh from Accessorize, where she served as global marketing director. Prior to that, King was the brand marketing director of Europe at Urban Outfitters and then served a 9-year tenure at advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy, where she managed the Nike account and contributed to other consumer brands.
“I am thrilled to step into the chief marketing officer role at Schuh,” King noted. “I’ve always been impressed by its progressive attitude, diverse product range and best-in-class customer service. My goal is to leverage its unique, values-led culture to drive a truly meaningful connection with the youth audience.”
This move comes after Genesco united its Journeys, Schuh and Little Burgundy banners under one business unit dubbed the Journeys Global Retail Group in September.
Mimi Vaughn, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Genesco, said at the time that the company sees “clear opportunities” in every market to grow share.
“With unified global leadership, we will maximize opportunities, strengthen market positioning with the consumer, and drive even greater growth with our brand partners,” the CEO said.
Earlier this month, Genesco disclosed that comparable sales, including both stores and direct sales, increased 9 percent for the fourth quarter-to-date period ended Dec. 27.
Revealed just ahead of the company’s presentation at this month’s ICR Conference, Genesco also said that same store sales increased 10 percent and comparable sales for the company’s e-commerce businesses increased 9 percent for that period.
By brand, comparable sales for the eight weeks versus the same year-ago quarter saw its Journeys Group gain 12 percent. The Schuh Group rose 6 percent and the Johnston & Murphy Group was up 1 percent.