River Island hires ex-George boss Fiona Lambert

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 22, 2018

River Island has confirmed that Fiona Lambert, the woman who helped build the George at Asda clothing brand, will join its ranks later this year as Managing Director, New Business Development.

Working alongside the founder of George, George Davis, Lambert was a crucial part in creating the first supermarket fashion brand in 1990. She worked at Asda for more than eight years until 2015, when she left her role of Vice President, Own Label Development to pursue other opportunities.

Most recently, Lambert has been servicing as Product Director at homeware company Dunelm since 2016.

A spokesperson for River Island confirmed her appointment, saying: “River Island has appointed Fiona Lambert into the newly created role of Managing Director – New Business Development. Fiona will be responsible for developing new product propositions for the business and join us later this year.”

This is the second major senior hire from the high street brand this year, following the appointment of Philip Cooke as new managing director of menswear and kidswear in January.

Last year, the retail chain of over 250 stores reported a 4% increase in sales to £932.7 million but profits dropped 7% as a result of increased investment in product and technology.