Home Retail Group has appointed Argos managing director John Walden as its new chief executive.
He will take over from Terry Duddy on 14 March.
Chairman John Coombe said: “John joined the group in February 2012, since which time he has done an excellent job as managing director for Argos.”
The announcement came as the group, which owns both Argos and Homebase, reported bumper Christmas sales that are expected to push full year profits to the top end of expectations, £90m to £109m.
In the 18 weeks from 1 September to 4 January, like-for-like sales at Argos grew 3.8% while Homebase’s sales were up by 4.7%.
However, both businesses’ overall sales were down slightly as a result of net store closures.
Duddy said: “We are pleased that Argos and Homebase have delivered another period of good trading performance despite a challenging consumer environment. In its peak trading period Argos has continued to grow internet sales, which now represent nearly half of Argos’s total sales. This growth was supported by a strong performance in mobile commerce sales, which represented 20% of total Argos sales in the period.
“This gives further reinforcement to our plan for Argos to become a digital retail leader.”
jack.sidders@estatesgazette.com
