The Range and Wilko owner has poached Matalan’s property director Antony Darbyshire to help accelerate its expansion plans.
Darbyshire, who joins CDS Superstores as its new head of property, will be responsible for the rollout of Wilko’s concept stores across the UK and Northern Ireland.
The discount chain, which was rescued out of administration by The Range last September, is set to open its sixth store in Poole on Friday (16 August) following successful openings in Exeter, Luton, Plymouth, Rotherham and St Albans.
Darbyshire, who will also spearhead increasing The Range’s more than 200 store portfolio, has over 30 years of retail property experience and currently serves as Matalan’s director of property, where he has spent the last ten years.
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Prior to that, he spent nine years as head of property for Frasers Group’s Sports Direct.
CDS Superstores chief executive Alex Simpkin 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.
“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.”
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