Selfridges chief exec steps down
Ex-Asda boss joins department store board
February 5 2004
Peter Williams, chef executive of Selfridges, has resigned as chief executive of the UK department store group six months after the business was acquired by Canadian retail entrepreneur Galen Weston.
Announcing Williams’ departure, Weston told employees that Paul Kelly, currently managing director of the Weston-owned Brown Thomas chain in Ireland, is to become chief executive of both Selfridges and Brown Thomas.
Williams, along with former Selfridges chief executive Vittorio Radice, spearheaded the revival of the business both through the revamp of the landmark Oxford Street store, and its expansion into location outside London. Plans for further new stores have been curtailed by Weston.
Weston said: “I would like to thank Peter for all that he has done for the company and for helping me enormously with the transition.”
Williams, who was part of a rival bid consortium which lost out to Weston’s Wittington Investments, said: “Selfridges is a fantastic business but maybe now is a time for new opportunities. I always wanted to oversee the transition and make sure the business bedded down well. I’m not sure what I’ll do but I’m probably better suited to work in the public arena than in the private arena.”
Wilimas has been linked to roles at menswear group Austin Reed, or even following Radice to Marks & Spencer, which is looking to further boost its retail strength at senior level.
Of new chief executive Kelly, Weston said: “He has done a tremendous job through a period of substantial growth to build Brown Thomas into the premiere fashion retailer in Ireland.”
In addition Allan Leighton, currently an advisor to Weston’s Wittington Investments company, is joining the board of Selfridges as deputy chairman, a role which will cover the Wittington Fashion Retail Group, including Selfridges, Brown Thomas and Holt Renfrew of Canada.
Leighton, the former chief executive of Asda and currently chairman Bhs and Royal Mail will join a newly-formed management committee, which will also see Alannah Weston, currently a non-executive director of Wittington become the full-time creative director for the fashion retail businesses. Alannah Weston’s experience includes two years at Burberry.
