Hunter announces team changes as design director departs

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 14, 2017

The news that Hunter’s design director Niall Sloan will be leaving his post to become creative director at Escada was followed by a raft of announcements from Hunter on Wednesday.

The British brand will bid farewell to Niall Sloan, who spent four years as creative director of the business, on Friday 16 June before he gears up to lead Escada into a new era. Sloan joined Hunter in 2013, and has been vital in the creation of a strong design language which will remain part of the Hunter Original and Hunter Field brand categories for many years to come.

“We are very sorry to see Niall leave Hunter, but wish him every success in his next role. Niall has been a key member of the team, joining just after I started with the brand. During his time as Design Director, he has delivered great collections and helped create a strong cross category design identity,” said creative director Alasdhair Willis.

A successor for Sloan will be announced in due course, added Willis. In the meantime, the label has appointed Tracy Solomons to the newly created position of customer engagement director, a key strategic role to drive growth and optimise the customer’s brand experience. Tracy joins from Uniqlo, where she was most recently director of customer experience. A member of the senior leadership team, Tracy will oversee omnichannel customer engagement at Hunter, including responsibility for e-commerce, retail, merchandising and digital marketing.

Sallie Scripter has also recently joined Hunter as executive vice president, Americas. Her experience includes stints at LVMH, here she was senior vice president for both retail development and RTW at Marc Jacobs International before being appointed as president of footwear boutique brands for the Jones Group. She joins from her own consultancy, where she provided strategic brand development in retail, e-commerce and global wholesale distribution.

Finally, Hunter announced the departure of chief commercial officer Wendy Svarre, who has been with the company since 2008 was a driving force behind developing the North America business.

Vicent Wauters, CEO, said: "Wendy’s contribution to the Hunter brand has been outstanding over the years, and we would like to thank her for her dedication. We wish her every success in her new role."

“I will be assuming Wendy’s responsibilities as CCO and will be working closely with Sallie, and the other regional commercial leads, to drive growth and realise our brand’s true potential. The newly created role of customer engagement director will also be vital to fulfill our ambition and I am very pleased to have Tracy on board.”