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Flooring retailer Carpet Court has snared a leading executive from The Warehouse Group as its new chief executive.
The appointment of Ed Connolly, the former Warehouse Stationery chief executive, to head Carpet Court and its majority stakeholder Lincoln Capital Partners, comes as the group eyes an aggressive expansion bid in New Zealand and Australia.
The group, with an annual revenue of around $200 million, now controls more than 30 per cent of the retail flooring market in New Zealand.
Connolly replaces Chris Ogden, who takes the position of chief operating officer of both companies.
"We have grown so quickly and to such a size, and we have so many opportunities in front of us, that it became obvious to both Chris and I that we needed a CEO with more experience to run such a large retail operation," said chairman Rodney Martin.
Connolly, who started yesterday, comes to the group with more than 30 years in retail. He had been headhunted out of the UK three years ago by Warehouse Group chief executive Ian Morrice to lead the Blue Sheds before being asked to move across to the Red Sheds as director of its 300-strong commercial division.
Prior to New Zealand, Connolly led the acquisition arm of an American-owned private equity fund, SB Capital, based in the UK.
