Beleaguered department store chain Debenhams has announced that John Walden and Kevin Conroy have been appointed as Non-Executive Directors on the board of its parent company, Celine Jersey Topco.
Walden is a former Chief Executive of the Home Retail Group and its principal subsidiary Argos. He left that business following the sale of Argos to Sainsbury’s in 2016.
Walden has also held senior management roles at Best Buy and Sears in the US. He is currently Chairman of Naked Wines following a stint as Executive Chairman of Holland & Barrett.
Meanwhile, Conroy is the founder and Chief Executive of Conroy Media. His previous roles include president of digital and media at MGM and senior roles at Univision, AOL and Bertelsmann. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Mattress Firm and has previously served on the boards of Newell Brands and Sotheby’s.
Mark Gifford, Chairman of Celine Jersey Topco, said: “We are delighted to appoint two such distinguished figures to the board. John brings multi-line and multi-channel expertise with a deep understanding of the UK retail environment, while Kevin’s digital/online experience and entrepreneurial background, with a wide-ranging international perspective will be very valuable.
“We are assembling a strong board and, with a supportive investor group, substantial resources and a clear plan, Debenhams is well set to implement its turnaround.”
As part of its CVA rescue plan, Debenhams will operate as usual until Christmas, but it will then close 22 stores and seek rent reductions on a further 105 stores. After the initial batch of store closures, the retailer will eventually shut a total of 50 of its 166 UK stores.
