Lars Hard has been appointed as the new Gardman general manager in China.
Based in Quanzhou in the Fujian province of China, Mr Hard will be responsible for supporting the UK category management team with sourcing, product development and innovation, as well as identifying new suppliers. He will also be exploring opportunities for Gardman across the region.

"I will be looking at all aspects of the China operation," he said, "from improving product quality to strengthening processes and ensuring we maintain a continual stream of innovative products to the market."

Mr Hard has previous expeience of working in China, having had similar responsibilities as part of a role with IKEA, where he was for 19 years, as well as Long Design, his own company. In his new role he will report to purchasing director Jason Smith. Mr Smith said: "We have spent some time searching for the ideal person to run and develop our operation in China and we believe we have found the right candidate.

"Lars' wide-ranging experience matches the skills we need and we look forward to expanding our business from Asia under his leadership."