Upmarket retailer Fortnum & Mason has appointed Matchesfashion’s Tom Athron as its next chief executive.
The firm, known for its Piccadilly flagship and luxury hampers, said Athron, who has been chief operating officer at luxury clothing firm Matchesfashion since 2018, will join the company on December 1.
That allows for a month’s handover with Ewan Venters, who leaves Fortnum’s in January 2021.
The appointment comes after it emerged in September that Venters, who has been boss of Fortnum & Mason since 2012, was set to leave the company and join international gallery Hauser & Wirth as its chief executive.
Incoming boss Athron said: “I am greatly looking forward to working with the Fortnum’s team on realizing its further potential and contributing to the next exciting phase in its long and illustrious history.”
Kate Hobhouse, chairman of Fortnum’s, said: “A versatile and highly experienced business leader, Tom has extensive leadership experience in digital and physical retail across food, luxury and designer fashion: he is a great fit with the multichannel business that Fortnum’s has become.”
The company was founded in London in 1707.
