He’d joined Boohoo when the clutch of former Arcadia brands were sold to the fashion e-tail giant, although he hadn’t been directly involved with them previously. Instead, he’d been MD at TopmanTopshop

M&S’s new menswear chief had also previously held senior posts at Burton and Matalan

Despite having worked solely online in recent years, he also has extensive physical retail experience, with both being relevant to M&S as it consolidates and improves its physical stores while growing its e-commerce operation.

Hughes said he’s “hugely excited” to be rejoining the business, especially given the transformation that has been seen in its Clothing & Home operations in recent years. 

His predecessor Wes Taylor had also been in charge of kidswear and this part of his portfolio will be taken over by Alex Dimitriu who has been promoted from Head of Buying for Menswear to Director of Kidswear as of February.

Hughes and Dimitriu join a category director team that includes Maddy Evans

Taylor, who the company said played a “pivotal role” in reshaping M&S’s product offer, has an impressive track record aside from his four years at the retail giant. He was previously long-term MD of Burton and also worked for Kangol and River Island