EXCLUSIVE: Following the departure of marketing chief Murray Chenery, retail chain Target Australia has appointed former Radio Shack marketing boss Lee Applbaum to to head up the department.
Applbaum will take on the top marketing job at Target as speculation around the brand's creative agency arrangements continue. Target split with the now-defunct The Campaign Palace in March following a 20-plus year partnership.
Big Red had been added to the roster late last year, which fuelled rumours Ted Horton's agency was poised to take the whole account. However, Target confirmed in April its creative account was in review but Melbourne adland had not heard of much movement since then.
Applbaum will replace Murray Chenery, who was marketing boss at Target for 10 years and had been with the company for 22 years. Chenery left earlier this year.
A Target spokesperson confirmed the appointment to AdNews: “Lee Applbaum will join Target Australia as general manager marketing on Monday 3 September, following his appointment to the role in July.”
Applbaum has joined from American technology retail giant Radio Shack where he was chief marketing officer for three and a half years. He left that role in March.
Prior to Radio Shack, Applbaum held top marketing jobs at companies including Schottenstein Stores, David's Bridal, Footstar Athletic and Schlotzky's.
Applbaum has relocated to Melbourne from the United States and appears to have arrived in Australia either late July or early this month, according to his verified Twitter profile.
This week, Target has been embroiled in a social media storm after a mother on Facebook criticised the company for manufacturing children's clothes she perceived as 'trampy'.
Target spent an estimated $39.2 million on main media in the 12 months to May 2012, up from $33 million in the prior period, according to Nielsen.
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