Monsoon property boss to lead La Senza's expansion

La Senza has poached Monsoon property director Tim Morris to drive an "aggressive" store expansion strategy.

Morris, who has spearheaded Monsoon's speedy retail growth over the past few years, has joined the lingerie business in the newly created role of property director.

A spokeswoman for La Senza declined to reveal how many stores the retailer was planning to open, but said the new property director role was intended to drive "aggressive" growth plans.

Initial target locations are understood to be spread across the UK, including White City and King's Cross in London, and Glasgow in Scotland.

Morris joined Monsoon in 2003, after leaving Uniqlo as store development director. During his five years at Monsoon, the retailer acquired and converted 21 former Dixons stores and 42 former Etam shops. This helped to expand the retailer's UK presence by almost a third to 339 stores by the end of 2005.

Morris also headed the chain's expansion into out-of-town stores.

La Senza has also appointed Jeanette Carter as retail operations director to help drive the brand's store opening programme.

La Senza is introducing men's underwear and T-shirts to its 35 stores and online offer in time for Christmas, and is launching its first fragrance, Undiscovered.

The lingerie retailer has 171 stores in the UK, including in Lakeside in Essex and Bluewater in Kent. It has more than 50 stores worldwide, and last year converted 67 stores from its Contessa fascia to La Senza. Its stores average 1,500sq ft. La Senza also has 20 franchises across Europe in countries including Russia, Latvia, Croatia and Lithuania.

Former Monsoon chief executive Rose Foster was appointed as chief executive earlier this year.
 Earlier this week La Senza unveiled its Christmas marketing campaign featuring model Petra Nemcova. The campaign (pictured) will appear in the retailer's windows until early January. Prices range from £5 for shorts to £25 to bras.