Leading West Yorkshire manufacturer and distributor, The Roxor Group has appointed a new director of E-commerce & AI as the business invests in strengthening its digital infrastructure, making it easier for trade customers to work across its growing brand portfolio.
Gavin Smith has been promoted into the newly created senior role, bringing extensive e-commerce, digital trading and performance marketing experience from previous roles in major household retail.
Having joined The Roxor Group in October 2023 as head of ecommerce, Smith will now lead the business’ strategy across product information, digital assets and order intake, bringing ecommerce and applied AI together under one cohesive remit.
The appointment reflects The Roxor Group’s continued investment in digital capability and future-facing ways of working, as product data, imagery and ordering processes become pivotal points of difference across the bathroom and interiors sector.
In his new role, Smith will initially focus on improving the consistency and availability of product information across The Roxor Group’s brands and channels, giving retailers, merchants, installers and specifiers clearer access to the technical and commercial content required to order and sell products with confidence.
Smith will also lead on strengthening the management of digital assets, including product imagery and supporting materials, ensuring brand and product content is organised effectively across the business and its customer channels. Additionally, he will be working alongside the sales team, with a focus on simplifying how customer orders are received and processed across the business.
Discussing his appointment, Gavin Smith said: “It’s a really exciting time to be taking on this new role. The Roxor Group has a brilliant portfolio of brands and an ambition to keep evolving, so the focus now is making sure our e-commerce, data and digital systems can support the next stage of our growth.
“My background is in ecommerce, trading and customer acquisition, so I’ve seen first-hand how much digital experience influences the way customers engage with a business. In the trade market, that means removing friction, improving access to the right information and making every interaction work harder.”
“In today’s world, AI is part of that, but it has to have a clear and genuinely useful purpose. It’s not about adopting technology for the sake of it; it’s applying it where it can make a real difference for our customers and to the way we work. It’s a role I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into.”
Smith began his career agency-side, holding senior roles at Epiphany Search and Summit Media, working with major retail clients including Pets at Home, JD Sports and Lloyds Pharmacy.
He later moved in-house as group head of Search at JD Sports Fashion, before spending eight years at Buy It Direct. During that time, his remit expanded from acquisition into trading, conversion and performance marketing, eventually becoming head of trading and customer acquisition.
A spokesperson for The Roxor Group said: “Gavin has already brought a wealth of digital experience to the business, and this new Director of Ecommerce & AI role gives him the remit to apply that expertise where it can make the biggest difference to both our customers and our internal teams.”