Richard collins fossil

New MD for Fossil Group UK as Ops Director steps up

Fossil Group has a new managing director in the UK following the recent departure of Helen Wood.

Former Operations Director Richard Collins, a 12-year veteran within the company, has taken up the role of managing director.

Collins began working with Fossil as a merchandiser before undertaking roles in wholesale planning before his latest role which saw him manage the finance department, concessions business and customer contact centre.

He said: “There are so many opportunities ahead of Fossil Group. In the next eight months we will be launching 100 connected devices across our portfolio of brands which will capture the imagination of our customers . We will merge our 30+ years of experience in the fashion watch world with the latest technology to bring some truly innovative products to market”.

Collins is said to be keen to work with retailers to understand the ‘changing marketplace’ and ensure that ‘mutual goals’ are met. Much of that will stem from the recent shift in consumer habits relating to online and social media and ensuring the business remains relevant to the end consumer.

“The retail landscape is changing,” he explained. “The digital world is evolving rapidly and I need to ensure that Fossil is a fast and agile company that can respond to market forces and the new opportunities that will arise. We need to be prepared to think differently and be open to change. Every Fossil employee should adopt this approach – starting with the managing director”.

Former managing director Helen Wood left Fossil Group to become European head of cosmetics company, Erno Laszlo.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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1 Comment

  1. For the last few years Fossil have gained a terrible reputation as a distributor and employer, making sweeping decisions to cut out independents and favouring larger retailers such as Amazon. When we asked the reps why they supplied Amazon, they knew nothing about it. Within 1 year we had 6 different reps. We stocked most Fossil products and decided last year they weren’t the sort of company we wanted to work with. The real shame is that people like Helen Wood have make a mess of our industry and then simply move on when their strategy doesn’t work.

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