Shop Direct boss to depart after digital turnaround

ALEX BALDOCK, the Shop Direct boss, has announced he is leaving the online retailer next summer after seven years at the helm.

Earlier this week the company posted record sales of £1.9bn on the back of a surge in mobile phone shoppers, who now account for 53pc of the business. Mr Baldock, who has steered Shop Direct’s turnaround from a catalogue retailer to a digital business, has most recently been focused on boosting the company’s use of artificial intelligence to respond more quickly to customer buying patterns.

Shop Direct, which is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, the owners of Telegraph Media Group, stopped printing its Littlewoods catalogue in 2015 in favour of an onlineonly model.

“It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to lead this exceptional team through such a rapid and far-reaching transformation”, said Mr Baldock. “It’s now time for me to move on to the next challenge, but I will do so with fond memories and full confidence that the business will continue to thrive under new leadership.”

In July Shop Direct’s shareholders announced they would not be pursuing sale discussions over the business as the appetite of potential bidders had changed amid election uncertainty.

Aidan Barclay, chairman of Shop Direct, said that Mr Baldock had “brought strategic clarity, relentless execution, and inspired his people to get behind him at every step”.