James Rubin-Smith

Head of Home Merchandising, UK | Quince | Product, Merchandising & Commercial Leader | M&S, MADE.com & The White Company

London, England, United Kingdom

About

Product, merchandising and commercial leader across UK, European and US retail and DTC brands, specialising in Home. Currently Head of Home Merchandising at Quince, responsible for UK product strategy, assortment development and commercial performance within a high-growth DTC business. Previously held senior leadership roles at Marks & Spencer, MADE.com and The White Company, spanning category leadership, product development, sourcing and large-scale commercial transformation, including full P&L ownership and turnaround delivery.

Experience

  • Head of Home Merchandising, UK at Quince
    Jan 2026 - Present · 6 mos

    Leading the UK Home category for a US DTC scale-up, owning end-to-end assortment strategy, product development, pricing architecture and category performance.

  • Merchandise Director at The White Company
    Sep 2025 - Dec 2025 · 4 mos

    Led a Merchandising team of 36 across Clothing and Home, owning range planning, trading performance and stock optimisation.

  • Founder at Keep
    Jun 2023 - Aug 2025 · 2 yrs 3 mos

    Founded Keep in April ’24, a direct-to-consumer modular sofa brand redefining sofa ownership through durable, long-life timeless design and replaceable covers, delivering £100k+ revenue in year one. Featured in The Telegraph and Living Etc.

  • Head of Category, Furniture at Marks and Spencer
    Jan 2019 - May 2023 · 4 yrs 5 mos

    Owned Furniture category strategy with full commercial accountability, leading a team of 25 across buying, merchandising and operations. Responsible for sourcing, product development, range architecture, pricing and stock management, with full P&L ownership across a £100m+ category. Delivered a category transformation, improving margin structure and returning the business to profitability through range rationalisation, sourcing optimisation and commercial reset.

  • Head of Merchandising UK/EU at MADE.COM
    Sep 2015 - Dec 2018 · 3 yrs 4 mos

    Launched and scaled the Merchandising function at Made.com, leading merchandise planning across UK and European markets and all Home, Furniture, and Lifestyle categories, supporting business growth from c.£62m to £173m in revenue.