Recognised as the UK’s premier luxury fashion retailer, Harvey Nichols, today announces that the appointment of Annabel Thorburn as e-commerce director. The appointment follows two senior hires to bolster the leadership team.
Thorburn joins the company as e-commerce director. She will be joining Harvey Nichols in April 2023. Thorburn brings a wealth of experience, having spent 20 years in retail consulting and leisure, including at Sweaty Betty, where she helped to reposition the brand as an e-commerce first company. Thorburn also spent 10 years at Tesco, overseeing marketing, web development, customer experience, and strategy. As Harvey Nichols continues to focus and invest in its digital offering, Thorburn will be responsible for further developing the brands online shopping experience and capabilities .
In January, Harvey Nichols appointed Lucy Menendez as hospitality food & beverage director. Menendez joined from Selfridges, where she was a strategic consultant in the food department. With over 20 years of experience in retail, Menendez has worked for household names such as Tesco, Fortnum & Mason, and The River Café, in category and commercial roles. Lucy will be responsible for further elevating Harvey Nichols’ hospitality offering as well as the redevelopment of Harvey Nichols own label food & beverage products which are already in the pipeline.
Harvey Nichols also recently appointed Brian Handley as retail director. Handley comes with a wealth of experience across the retail sector and knows the Harvey Nichols brand well. He previously spent 11 years working for Harvey Nichols managing Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and Istanbul stores becoming a regional board member. Prior to returning to Harvey Nichols, Handley has held roles at luxury retail groups De Bijenkorf (Selfridges Group) in Amsterdam, Tsum Kyiv and McArthur Glen. Handley will be responsible for further enhancing Harvey Nichols’ shopping experience for its discerning customer base.
Manju Malhotra, CEO of Harvey Nichols, said: “We’re really excited to have Annabel, Lucy, and Brian join our team, bolstering our strength in these key departments.
“Annabel will be instrumental in driving our digital business forward. Our digital offering has excelled following the pandemic including the launch of the rewards programme available for our app but we want to take it further and really focus our efforts on a truly personalised experience for all our customers.
“Post Pandemic, we are pleased to see footfall and tourism back in our London Knightsbridge store, and our two hires Lucy and Brian will be responsible for elevating the experience we can offer from there and replicated across the group. Lucy joins at an exciting time. We know that our food and beverage offering is key to our customers and it plays a large part in our growth strategy. Lucy’s experience and expertise will be invaluable as we look to build on our already well-established business segment.
“Finally, the fact that Brian is returning to our brand highlights the positive environment that we have created. He knows the company inside out and will be returning with fresh ideas to drive our retail offering to the next level.
“We have some exciting plans in the pipeline and I very much look forward to working with this incredible team to drive growth in 2023 and beyond.”
Menendez, Handley, and Thorburn will be reporting to CEO, Manju Malhotra.
