27th Jun 2019 08:26
(Alliance News) - Kingfisher PLC on Thursday said Carrefour Asia boss Thierry Garnier will replace its own outgoing chief executive officer, Veronique Laury, in the autumn.
The FTSE 100-listed company said Garnier spent 20 years in senior roles at Carrefour SA, the French hypermarket retailer. He currently serves as the head of Carrefour Asia, where he is responsible for over 350 stores in China and Taiwan.
On Sunday, Carrefour announced it had agreed to sell an 80% stake in Carrefour China to Chinese group Suning.com for an enterprise value of EUR1.4 billion.
Carrefour China operates a network of 210 hypermarkets and 24 convenience stores. Suning.com, meanwhile, operates 8,881 stores and is the country's third largest B2C e-commerce platform.
From 2003 to 2008, Garnier was the managing director of supermarkets for Carrefour France.
"In what was a rigorous recruitment process, Thierry stood out for the board from a strong list of candidates due to his recognised operational know-how at a multi-national retail business, his delivery of long-term value creation, and his experience in driving leading edge digital innovation, most recently in China," said Kingfisher Chair Andy Cosslett.
"The board and I would again like to thank Veronique for her energy, her vision and determination in driving the transformation, and for successfully laying the foundations for future growth," added Cosslett.
Laury - who was appointed as CEO in 2015 - will step down from the board by the end of September, while the effective date of Garnier's appointment will be announced "as soon as it is finalised".
Laury's departure was first announced at the end of March, after her restructuring plan, ONE Kingfisher, aimed at restoring the firm's profitability, failed to deliver.
Kingfisher's half-year results will be announced on September 18.
The stock was trading 2.9% higher on Thursday morning in London at 211.70 pence a share.