The Very Group has appointed Beckie Crane-Stanion as its new Marketing Director, with the former Frasers Group CMO joining as the retailer enters the next phase of its brand strategy.
Crane-Stanion joins from Abbott Lyon, where she was Consultant Global Brand Director, having previously led the marketing department at Frasers Group through its brand elevation strategy.
At Very, she will lead the brand, creative and marketing strategy, overseeing customer engagement across key channels and teams spanning brand, marketing and HelloStudio, the group’s in-house creative agency.
She also brings agency experience from roles with organisations including UEFA, The FA and the NFL.
Sam Wright, Chief Customer and Commercial Offer at The Very Group, said Crane-Stanion was joining at an “exciting time” for the business as it looks to grow the Very brand.
“Our customers are at the heart of what we do and we’re proud to be able to offer a great range of products with flexible ways to pay across our department store,” he said.
“Beckie has joined the business at an exciting time as we go into the next iteration of our brand journey, aiming to increase reach and grow our brand even further.”
Crane-Stanion said: “I’m incredibly excited to join the team at Very. It’s such an iconic retailer with years of heritage and experience of supporting families. There is no better time to have a focus on how we serve this customer as we evolve the Very brand for its next exciting phase.”
The appointment comes as The Very Group remains under the ownership of US private equity firm Carlyle, which took control of the business through a restructuring in November 2025 that ended the Barclay family’s more than two-decade ownership.
Carlyle subsequently launched a formal auction of the business in June, reportedly seeking around £2 billion. The sale process is now expected to be abandoned after potential bidders, including Chinese e-commerce group JD.com, failed to meet the asking price.
The Very Group, which operates the Very and Littlewoods brands, has around 4.4 million customers and annual revenue of more than £2 billion.
Its latest results showed retail revenue from Very grew 0.1% year on year to £1 billion for the 39 weeks to 28 March 2026. Fashion revenue declined 4.5%, while sports grew 7.5% and the toys and beauty category increased 3%.
The group expects full-year pre-exceptional EBITDA of between £310 million and £320 million.