Dunelm has appointed Nick Wilkinson as its new chief executive after John Browett stepped down from the role earlier this year for “personal reasons”.
Wilkinson, who will begin his role with the home and furniture retailer in February, previously had the top job at Evans Cycles for five years.
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Prior to his stint at the bicycle retailer, he was chief executive of Belgian and Dutch home improvement retailer Maxeda DIY, and also had an eight-year stint with Dixons Carphone where he was group buying director.
“We are confident that Nick’s proven business leadership and track record will help us to deliver our ambitious plans for growth in market share and creation of substantial value for shareholders,” Dunelm chairman Andy Harrison said.
Wilkinson said he was looking forward to leading the retailer into its “next exciting chapter”.
In August, Dunelm said that had made “good progress over the last two years” under Browett’s leadership, who was originally appointed to the role in 2015, but conceded the next “phase of growth requires different leadership”.
Earlier in the year, Dunelm warned that costs were starting to rise in the face of the Brexit-induced depreciation in the sterling, which has led to a more “challenging” retail environment.
For the full-year period ending July 1, it recorded a 28.3 per cent crash in pre-tax profit to £92.4 million while like-for-like sales slipped 0.5 per cent and comparable store sales fell 2.4 per cent. However, overall revenue for the fiscal year rose 8.5 per cent to £955.6 million.
Dunelm has so far been making a recovery in the current fiscal year, with a trading update in October indicating that favourable weather has boosted footfall and contributed to a near 25 per cent jump in first quarter sales.
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