Little Mistress Group introduces new role ahead of International expansion

British fashion group Little Mistress has its sights set on speeding up its international expansion with its latest appointment. The group has tapped former International Sales Manager for French Connection, Fatemeh Nassarpour, as its first Head of International Sales and Development.

This newly created role is said to be the next big move in the fast growth of the Little Mistress Group and its brands. "The addition of Fatemeh to the team in this new role is part of the company's intention to dovetail the branding and strategy of The Little Mistress Group into the international sector, in line with our commitment to expand in the international market," commented Mark Smith, group chairman.

Little Mistress to focus on International Expansion

At French Connection, Nassarpour was credited for "delivering extraordinary results in growth, revenue and profitability," according to her Linkedin profile. In her new role at Little Mistress, Nassarpour will be responsible for developing and implementing new strategies in key markets for the group, including Asia and the Middle East. Smith notes that the group is already "in discussion" with leading retail groups in China and the Emirates and hopes Nassarpour will help drive international sales.

According to the Group, turnover for the Little Mistress Group was 18 million pounds last year and is predicted to increase to 25 million pounds in 2015, with the majority of the group's sales coming from its home market in the UK. Now that the group has tapped Nassarpour, they aim to push export sales to 50 percent of UK turnover. "We now have a very strong base and business model which we believe will be extremely attractive to international retailers globally," commented the group's chief executive officer, Mark Ashton.

"We are already selling very well in Europe via e retailers such as Zalando and department store groups such as Peek & Cloppenburg and Alshaya Group. Additionally, we have received some very attractive offers to develop via franchises and shop in stores from various markets. Recruiting Fatemeh Nassarpour to bring her international experience to the team will bring vitally important specialist global understanding. The whole team are looking forward to be working with Fatemeh in this next exciting phase of the Little Mistress story."

The relatively-young women's wear group has experienced rapid growth since its conception in 2008, something which Smith credits the group's CEO Ashton, as well as his team for. "Mark Ashton has overseen our company's sales, development, brand ethos and positioning as one of the leading young fashion brands in the market, with the backing of a wholly committed team."

"Mark has some really exciting projects currently in progress, including the development of shop in shops, specialist collection projects, licensing and an increased commitment to Direct Delivery with several major retailers including Shop Direct and Arcadia."