The Range and Wilko appoint head of property to drive high street expansion
CDS Superstores, the operator of The Range and Wilko, has appointed Antony Darbyshire as its new head of property.
With 30 years’ retail property experience, including senior roles at Matalan and Sports Direct, he will also be part of the company’s senior leadership team.
In his new position, Darbyshire will be responsible for the continued rollout of Wilko concept stores following the success of launches in Exeter, Luton, Plymouth, Rotherham and St Albans. A new store will also open in Poole on 16 August.
He will also oversee the growing 200-strong portfolio of The Range stores.
Alex Simpkin, chief executive of CDS Superstores, trading as The Range and Wilko, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Antony to our leadership team.
“His extensive experience and expertise in property management are exactly what we need as we accelerate our expansion plans and build on our success to date. Antony will play a critical role in ensuring that both The Range and Wilko continue to thrive and reach even more communities across the UK.”
He added: “We are particularly excited about the opportunities to regrow the Wilko brand through our innovative new concept stores and encourage landlords with suitable spaces to proactively contact us regarding potential occupancy as we ramp up our store launch programme.”
