Toby Bateman has returned to Mr Porter, the luxury online men’s style store where he spent a decade from 2010.
During this tenure at the London-based business, he rose from buying director to managing director in 2015 and oversaw the launch of a major department for prestige watches.
Mr Porter and its parent company Net-A-Porter were bought by Richemont in 2010, but underperformed within the group and was sold last year to Mytheresa.com.
Mr Bateman has been hired as Mr Porter’s new CEO and will be joined by Jeremy Langmead, the company’s former communications director.
Mr Langmead joined Mr Porter after four years editing men’s style magazine Esquire until 2010.
Soon after leaving Mr Porter in 2019, Mr Bateman’s career took an unexpected turn when he was appointed CEO of Hodinkee, the world’s biggest online watch title and an emerging online store for luxury watches.
Despite the pandemic, inside a year he grew revenue grew revenue from $20m to $100m, according to his LinkedIn profile, although much of that growth came from the disastrously-timed acquisition of pre-owned specialist Crown & Caliber in 2021, just months before the secondary market crash.
“I’m excited to return to MR PORTER as CEO,” Mr Bateman shares. “Also thrilled that Jeremy Langmead is re-joining as Brand Director. Mr Porter is not just a retailer, but the global authority on men’s style. A destination to discover fashion, inspiration and advice. It’s about the world’s best menswear: the product, the edit, and how you can wear it,” he adds.