Andy Haywood joins N Brown as CIO and change agent

Andy Haywood, formerly Group CIO of The Cooperative and pharmacy retailer Boots, is today joining online and home shopping retailer N Brown Plc as its CIO and head of business change.

“The role brings together accountability for Business change and IT, ” the company said in a statement. “Haywood will head up the major systems project that the business is embarking on, designed to step change the company’s capability, facilitating simpler processes, improvements for customers and ultimately underpinning N Brown’s ambitious growth plans.”

Manchester-based N Brown has been operating without a significant High Street presence since the late 1800s and today is the holding company behind a range of specialist online and home retailer brand names such as Figleaves.com, Jacamo, JD Williams and High & Mighty for tall people.

In its last financial report N Brown reported that female brands were the lead performers ahead of footwear and then men’s clothing. In 2014 the FTSE-listed N Brown reported revenues of £834.9 million and an operating profit £107 million.

Haywood will report to Chief Executive Angela Spindler and be on the board of the growing retailer. Spindler said of Haywood’s appointment:

“He has considerable experience in senior group roles in all aspects of IT and business change across numerous sectors. I feel sure his appointment will underpin our ambition to transform, modernise and grow the business going forward. I am delighted to welcome him to the team.”

Elsewhere in the retail sector Acadia, which operates the Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and BHS brands announced a deal with Original Software as part of its supply chain systems strategy. Under the terms of the deal Original Software will provide software testing and quality assurance to the supply chain systems in use at Arcadia.

While high end department store group Selfridges has selected Synthesio for online customer monitoring and analysis. Selfridges will use the Synthesio tools for customer queries and communications, it said in a statement.