A BOLTON man has been appointed fashion market manager for North-west Europe at global e-business software company Intentia.

Chris Houghton, aged 36, who lives in Knightswood, off Beaumont Road, has worked in the fashion industry for more than 10 years.

He works from Elland in Yorkshire in charge of a team which aims to develop the Stockholm-based company's fashion sector business.

Mr Houghton, who is married with two children, went to Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton.

He has moved to Intentia after three years as style European sales manager for JBA (Now GEAC Inc) in Manchester.

Before that he spent a number of years at Simon Jersey in Blackburn as head of information management and four years with By Design Plc, based in Hong Kong.

Mr Houghton believes a massive transformation is going on in the high street as people become more discerning. "This is leading to the rationalisation of clothing and footwear suppliers," he said. "Those that will survive are those most able to offer retailers excellent sourcing and new ideas.

"Like many markets, fashion has become a global market and it is increasingly difficult for the traditional, smaller supplier to survive without an investment in technology."

Mr Houghton is a super-keen Bolton Wanderers fan and says he is "a happy bunny" at the moment.