Green appoints chief exec to run clothing empire Arcadia
RETAIL magnate Sir PhilipGreen yesterday appointed a full-time chief executive to run clothing business Arcadia.
Green said he had hired Ian Grabiner, Arcadia’s chief operating officer, as chief executive, as he warned of a tough Christmas on the high street.
And the tycoon – who is adamant that the shake-up will not see him take a back seat – also appointed his stepson Brett Palos to the board.
The overhaul was announced as the retail group posted a 13 per cent increase in full-year profit along with solid current trading and said it had significantly cut its debt.
The group, which owns the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Wallis, Dorothy Perkins and Evans brands, made a pre-tax profit of £213.6m for the year to 29 August, up from £188.9m in the previous year.
That was achieved on sales up 2.7 per cent at £1.90bn, despite what Green called “one of the most challenging retail landscapes that I have seen”.
Like-for-like sales at UK stores level on the previous year and were up 2.3 per cent in the first seven weeks of the new financial year. A