BHS has appointed Darren Topp as its chief executive officer on an interim basis.
Topp will start his new role with immediate effect. He has worked at BHS for six years; previous roles include chief operating officer.
He will lead the next stage of the turnaround plan, which has already started delivering with like-for-like sales up by 3.5% in the 12 months to August 2014, the best result for 10 years.
Topp is replacing Richard Price, who is leaving his role as managing director of BHS. After a period of gardening leave, he will take up a new position with Tesco.
Topp said: “There are clearly some challenges ahead and no magic wand we can wave but we have a clear strategy that is already showing some signs of success with the best sales performance for a decade, and we continue to trade positively.”
Dominic Chappell, chief executive officer of Retail Acquisitions, BHS’s owner, said: “Over the past few weeks we have spent a significant amount of time with Darren and the leadership team, who have more than 300 years of retail experience between them.”
