N Brown appoints former Oasis MD Sarah Welsh as retail CEO

The retail giant N Brown Group has appointed former Oasis and Warehouse Group managing director Sarah Welsh as retail CEO.

She will be joining the leading retail group, behind brands including Simply Be, JD Williams, Jacamo, Ambrose Wilson and Fashion World, from 30 March and will report directly to group CEO Steve Johnson.

Welsh will be managing all areas of buying, merchandising, product, design, trading sourcing and partnerships. She will further be supporting the execution of N Brown’s retail-led strategy to deliver profitable, digital growth

The announcement has been followed by a series of new appointments by N Brown. The retail group also announced the appointment of Vicky Mitchell, a specialist in consumer finance as non-executive director.

Welsh will be bringing 25 years’ worth of retail and brand experience to the fashion plc. Previously Welsh has worked within the buying sector in Oasis for nearly 18 years. In January 2015, she worked her way up to Brand Director, before taking up the role as managing director of Oasis and Warehouse group at the start of January 2019. She started her career on the shop floor at Laura Ashley, developing a passion for product alongside skills in buying, which were enhanced through senior roles at both River Island and Miss Selfridge.

Steve Johnson, CEO of N Brown, said: “Sarah joins N Brown at an exciting time as we continue with our strategy to deliver sustainable, profitable growth. She brings a wealth of relevant experience, not least in building strong and empowered teams to develop brand propositions. Her experience will be important in further improving and developing our product offering to continue making our customers look and feel amazing.”

Welsh continued: “I look forward to strengthening vision of ‘democratising fashion’ by enhancing the product proposition for customers who feel under-represented and under-served, across their compelling brand portfolio.”