John Lewis creates strategy role, names new trading chief from Body Shop

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 13, 2017

John Lewis Partnership has unveiled two major new appointments with the creation of one new role, that of strategy director, at the firm that includes both the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets.

Ed Connolly has been trading director on an interim but will now head up the strategy team, reporting to finance chief Patrick Lewis. In this new role, he will be responsible “for shaping and developing the long-term direction and sustainability of the Partnership, working directly with the executive team.”

Prior to this, Connolly was buying director, Fashion, for three years where he led the transformation of John Lewis own brand ranges including launching its successful Modern Rarity line and the casualwear And/Or offer.

His new role comes as he makes way for Simon Coble in the trading director role. Coble will report into John Lewis MD Paula Nickolds in this job, which he will take up in January. 

He joins from The Body Shop, where he had been UK MD, before extending his responsibilities to Europe and North America since the end of 2016. He was also on The Body Shop board and prior to this he was chief executive at Uniqlo for five years. He also spent 13 years with Arcadia working across a number of its fashion brands.

Coble will take on the leadership of the trading team, including responsibility for the buying and merchandising teams.