Jigsaw calls on new directors as it works on turnaround

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 17, 2019

Jigsaw has added a number of new directors to its board as it work to recover from the tough conditions that are affecting so many of its fashion retail peers at present.

Jigsaw hasn't officially announced the appointments, most of which actually date to earlier this year, but news about them came out in public documents it filed at companies house.

The new names include Jamie Murray Wells who is the entrepreneur behind Glasses Direct, as well as Despina Don-Wauchope, Richard Walker, Isabel Spearman and Silvana Rossi.

Don-Wauchope, the most recent executive to join the team, is a key player in the company’s current operation having started last month as finance director. She previously spent a decade at Land Securities and was head of finance at the property group.

Spearman and Rossi are both brand consultants, while Walker is a former executive at telecommunications company TalkTalk and is also on the board of car dealership Lookers. That's a significant connection as David Ross, who co-founded Carohone Warehouse and TalkTalk is now a major Jigsaw shareholder.

The company had at one point appeared to be one of the stronger players in UK fashion retail but it ran into many of same problems that its peers faced as consumers either migrated online or proved to be more cautious about spending money on fashion in the post-Brexit vote environment.

Jigsaw secured a £20 million rescue deal only last year and in January, former human resources director Toby Foreman replaced Chris Stephenson as interim CEO.

But the company still hasn't  announced a replacement for its chairman Charles Atterton, who said in January that he would be retiring from the business after more than 20 years there.