GO Outdoors appoints new CEO
Outdoor retailer GO Outdoors has appointed Chris Matthews as its new chief executive.
Taking up his new position in May, Matthews will join the company from Dixons where he is currently managing director of the Kotsovolos electrical chain in Greece. Over a 10-year career with Dixons, Matthews has held a range of leadership positions across general management, commercial, e-commerce and marketing.
Prior to Dixons, Matthews worked with Marks & Spencer.
As announced in October, Go Outdoors founder John Graham will step down from the role of CEO to focus on the company’s range of products.
Graham said: “We knew that we wanted a CEO who was a talented retailer, but even more importantly we wanted someone who understood GO. Chris is that person.”
Chairman Colin Holmes added: “GO Outdoors has a really strong management team who have achieved a tremendous amount in the last year. I am confident that Chris will be a great addition to the board, and will help create an even better business for customers, staff and suppliers.”
GO Outdoors has appointed a number of new members to its management team in the last year. In 2012, the company recruited Dan Quinn from Tesco as commercial director and Jon Asbury from Halfords as GO Outdoor’s first multi-channel director. The company also appointed Chris Morgan from Focus as chief finance officer and Jeff Fagan as retail director from Mothercare.
The retailer has enjoyed strong trading in the last year with turnover rising by 19% to £203 million.
