Zara owner Inditex has poached Debenhams’ acquisitions manager to help expand its Stradivarius brand in the UK.
Gareth Dougherty will leave the department store chain in the coming weeks. His start date at Inditex has yet to be confirmed.
Dougherty replaces Paddy McCormack, who is moving to become real estate manager in CBRE’s central London retail team. Dougherty will work alongside Inditex property director Joe Grimes.
Stradivarius made its UK debut in 2015 with a 4,000 sq ft shop at Westfield Stratford, E15. It plans to have four shops open by the end of the year.
It is opening a flagship 16,000 sq ft shop on Oxford Street, W1, a shop at intu Trafford Centre in Manchester and another at Donegall Place in Belfast.
The world’s largest fashion group plans to expand the brand by pursuing city locations that already have
a Zara.
There are 68 Zara shops in the UK, and it is expected that Inditex will grow Stradivarius where it has existing relationships with landlords.
Stradivarius has 900 shops in 62 countries, and has executed an aggressive expansion strategy, opening as many as 60 shops a year in other countries.
Inditex opened 330 shops across the world last year, bringing its total number to more than 7,000.
Overall sales rose by 15% in 2015, and it posted a net profit of €2.8bn (£2.1bn) in the year ended 31 January.
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