Jigsaw hires former Thomas Pink boss

The fashion retailer Jigsaw has hired Des Swan, the former managing director of the shirt specialist Thomas Pink, as its new chief executive.

Mr Swan has been appointed the group chief executive of Kewsaw, the holding company that owns the Jigsaw and Kew fashion chains, as well as the womenswear brand Cabbages & Roses and The Shop at Bluebird.

He joined Thomas Pink as finance director in 1990 and became its managing director in 1996, spearheading an extensive expansion of the chain in the UK and internationally. John Robinson, the founder of Jigsaw, will act as executive chairman of Kewsaw.

Robinson Webster Holdings, the former parent of Jigsaw, made a pre-tax loss of £7.3m in the 53 weeks to 3 October 2009, as a result of currency fluctuations and deeper discounting.

Mr Swan said: "The business had a tough time in 2009 but decisive action had already been taken by existing management to remedy that and there has been a significant improvement in the performance in the current financial year."