Craig Hadley, Victoria Plum’s former head of buying, has joined online-only home furniture brand MatalanDirect.com as buying director. Having being instrumental in leading Victoria Plum to unprecedented growth, Hadley has been appointed to oversee strategic category on boarding for the new online home brand.
Craig brings a wealth of experience to the new role, having helped shape the success of innovative product design and brand development at Victoria Plum, resulting in winning the Retailer of the Year Award at the Venda ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards.
He also has significant commercial knowledge in both the consumer (retail, ecommerce and FMCG) and B2B sectors, and was part of the team that introduced Aldi to the UK market in the late 1980s. Prior to working with Victoria Plum, he was the buying manager for Globe Union/PJH Group, one of the world’s largest suppliers of plumbing products and PJH Europe’s largest bathroom and kitchen supplier and distributor.
His remit at MatalanDirect.com will focus on refining and diversifying the product offering as well as ensuring that the pricing and range reflects the needs of the Matalan consumer.
Craig comments: “This is an exciting role to take on as MatalanDirect.com has fantastic potential to become one of the leading online home retailers in the UK. With over 12.5 million loyal customers and supported by the powerhouse of Matalan on the high street, the future looks bright for the brand. My previous experience will fit well with the direction MatalanDirect.com is heading in and I look forward to being part of the success story.”
Launched in July, MatalanDirect.com, subsidiary of Matalan Retail, is an online-only home brand, offering furniture and larger home items outside of Matalan’s existing accessories range.
