Daniel O’Toole has been appointed as managing director of Langstone-based Retail Merchandising Services following his father's death in October.

After a short adjustment period, Mr O’Toole follows in his father Peter’s footsteps as the leader of the company.

Previously development director for RMS, Mr O’Toole has a good understanding of his father’s intentions for the company.

He said: “My father established a legacy in his work with RMS and I want to further his vision to be the best quality retail support service in the UK.

"We will be focussing on the three core offerings of the business: merchandising, technology and recruitment and training while continuing to develop other business strands. Following strategic reviews these are the areas we have identified as most important to our partners, to help them to deliver an excellent shopping experience to their customers.

“Working closely with the existing team at the support centre, I have also developed four key values that encompass RMS: loyalty, teamwork, integrity and innovation.”

As part of his plans to ensure RMS has a sustainable business model, Mr O’Toole has introduced new modules to the training programme for RMS employees.

Training takes place at RMS’ Merchandising Standards Academy in the Inspire Business Centre in Northern Ireland.

He said: “I am committed to ensuring that our employees have a long-term career in retail.

"We are consistently hearing about the challenges which bricks and mortar stores are facing in the competition against the rise of online shopping, so we have introduced a CILT-accredited warehousing module to the pre-existing retail training programme. This will give our employees the skills they need to work in the distribution centres for online brands, as well as merchandising physical stores.”

The Merchandising Standards Academy was established in January 2015, in order to drive up standards in retail merchandising. It offers students the opportunity to study an ILM-accredited retail merchandising course up to degree level.

It has recently expanded its offering to include CILT-accredited warehousing modules. This ensures RMS staff is equipped with the skills to continue working in retail through the rise of online shopping.