FOOTASYLUM

Hiring - Lead Photographer 📸 We are hiring a Lead Photographer to work within our in-house studio team. The lead photographer manages resource, training and staff progression across eCommerce, social and campaign photography. The role also offers various opportunities to work across a broad spectrum of briefs for internal, seasonal and reactive campaigns and branded campaigns for leading brands such as Nike, Adidas, North Face, Converse, Jordan and many more. We are the only UK retailer with the ability to create and produce content for global mega brands in-house. Based out of our purpose-built content creation studio at The Sharp Project. #DefyOrdinary

🎉 Congratulations SOLE cohort for successfully graduating this week! 🎉   Our 2024 cohort has completed the Footasylum Service-Oriented Leadership Experience (SOLE) programme, a remarkable journey designed and delivered in-house by Footasylum's Talent Development Team with support from various departments across the business.   Beginning in February at our head office, seven dedicated retail managers embarked on a six-month adventure, culminating in their well-deserved graduation. Throughout this period, they engaged in leadership workshops, completed mental health first aid training, and delved into Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, and worked on a time saving project for our retail stores.   Their experience also included "a day in the life" at our Head Office, as well as shadowing Area Managers, and receiving invaluable mentorship from senior leadership team members.   We are incredibly proud of our graduates; Lucie Tomlin Jasmine Barbis Joseph Rolland Ussher Callum Virk Kieran Thompson Qasim Hussain Lewis Hawley and can't wait to see the amazing contributions you'll all make to Footasylum's future! 🚀

Today we launched our Summer Hours, on a typically raining British day, with the launch of a smoothie van. Our teams had the chance to help themselves to: Mango & Passionfruit Smoothie 🍋 Berrylicious Smoothie 🫐 Pina Nolada Smoothie 🥥 Shirley Temple 🍋 (Ginger ale, Mexican lime soda, grenadine drizzle) Nojito 🌴(mint & limes) Elderflower Fizz 🍋 (Elderflower, sparkling water & lemon slice) Sparking Fruit Punch 🍓 The rain didn't put people off and everyone seemed to love the irony of the weather. Welcome to Summer, bring your brolly! ☂️ 🌧️

This World Earth Day, Footasylum is excited to share our journey towards a greener, more sustainable future. 🌿🌍 We believe in the power of every step to make a difference. That's why we're committed to becoming carbon net-zero by 2030, paving the way for a brighter, cleaner tomorrow. 🌟 So far Footasylum have agreed a REGO tariff, started switching all lighting in our Distribution Centre and stores to LED, included biofuel in our outbound logistics miles and committed to 'zero to landfill' and this is just the beginning of our journey Join us in celebrating our wins as a business dedicated to environmental goals! Below is a video highlighting our progress and initiatives. 👣💚

Executive Chair and CEO Barry Bown to step down - David Pujolar Segura joins as CEO. This week we announced Executive Chairman and CEO, Barry Bown, will be stepping down from his current role to take up a consultancy role with AURELIUS. Barry joined Footasylum in 2018, prior to which he spent over 30 years at JD Sports, the last 14 of which were as CEO. He has successfully steered the Company through a hugely eventful few years, and has restored it to stability and profitability against a challenging backdrop. In his new consultancy role, Barry will continue to use his vast industry knowledge and expertise to support the growth of Footasylum and other Aurelius portfolio companies.   Barry will be replaced as CEO by David Pujolar, who joins from AW LAB, a multi-brand, multi-channel streetwear, sportswear and lifestyle retailer, where he has been General Manager since 2016. AW LAB has more than 270 shops in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and is part of the Bata Group, a world leader in the footwear industry. David has led AW LAB’s global expansion across retail, e-commerce and franchising, developed and implemented a new omnichannel web platform, added tools such as Artificial Intelligence and Power Business Intelligence, and also created AW LAB's loyalty club membership which today has over three million members.   Prior to AW LAB, David held a number of leadership positions in buying and merchandising at adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, and Foot Locker. Barry Bown, outgoing Executive Chairman and CEO of Footasylum, said: “Footasylum is an incredible business and I’ve been privileged to lead it for nearly six years. It has been rewarding and challenging in equal measure and, under AURELIUS’s ownership, we now have exceptionally strong foundations and a clear strategy for future growth. Today, Footasylum is profitable, expanding rapidly, and has a prominent presence on high streets and in iconic retail destinations across the UK. Against that backdrop, the time is right for me to step aside from the day-to-day running of the business, almost 40 years after I first started out in this industry.   “I am delighted that someone of David’s calibre will take up the role of CEO and am confident that he is the right person to take charge of Footasylum’s exciting next chapter. I also have no doubt that the incredible leadership team I leave behind will support him in taking the business to new heights. I am looking forward to providing support to the business through my new consultancy role with AURELIUS.”   David Pujolar, incoming CEO of Footasylum, said: “Footasylum is a business that I’ve admired for many years. It has a distinctive proposition, a loyal customer base, and an exciting portfolio of innovative and trendsetting brands. Barry, AURELIUS, and the wider team have done an excellent job in building Footasylum into a leading streetwear retailer and disruptive entertainment company, and I am looking forward to continuing their good work.”

Earlier this week we celebrated International Women’s Day here at Head Office. We housed an IWD pop up event, with special shoutouts to some incredible female colleagues from across all areas of the business, pick n mix sweet stall and lovely daffodils for all. We are immensely proud of all of our female colleagues, who continuously go above and beyond to #defyordinary and inspire us everyday! 💜 🌼 🍭 #IWD2024

Monica Sedman and Hira K. are at The Manchester Metropolitan University today, visiting the graduate spring fair. If you are around and would like to talk to two experts in early careers about how to write a cv, what opportunities we have and to give yourself some confidence moving into the world of work, come and visit us today.

Last week we welcomed our new cohort of seven managers to the Service Orientated Leadership Experience (SOLE) for 2024. Footasylum SOLE is an experiential leadership programme aimed at developing Managers who are passionate about taking their next step at Footasylum, whatever that may look like. The programme encompasses elements of classroom learning, self-directed learning, and experiential learning, factoring in various learning styles. Over the course of the six-month programme, these Managers will be pushed outside of their comfort zone and challenged to share what they have learned with their teams and wider Area. They are representative of the best of our retail team. The Footasylum SOLE programme has only been made possible with the support of the wider business, who have happily given their time and are passionate about supporting and mentoring the delegates throughout the programme.  Joseph Rolland Ussher Jasmine Barbis Lucie Tomlin Lewis Hawley Qasim Hussain Kieran Thompson Callum Virk #defyordinary

Our new store upsize is complete at White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds. Part of our ongoing commitment to creating the best shopping experience for our customers, is the development of our stand alone Footasylum Women’s stores, which exclusively stocks some of our incredible own brands such as Forena, Monterrain Women’s and Dripmade Women’s alongside some of the biggest sport fashion brands. Come and check out this incredible new retail space. #DEFYORDINARY #LEEDS

It’s National Apprenticeship Week! 💚🖤   Here at Footasylum, we have apprentices in lots of different areas of the business who add huge value to what we do at Head Office. We have spent the week having a chat with some of our apprentices to dig deeper in to the qualification they are doing and the impact it has had on their personal development.   As NAW draws to a close, we wanted to shine a spotlight on them - read their profiles below ⤵️