New Warehouse chief executive named

Mark Powell, named today as new chief executive of The Warehouse. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Mark Powell has been named as the successor to Warehouse chief executive Ian Morrice, who plans to quit the role later this year.

Powell has held senior management roles across international companies including Tesco and Walmart during the past two decades and more recently has been chief executive of Warehouse Stationery.

The Warehouse chairman Keith Smith said Powell had demonstrated the combined qualities of senior international retail experience, with a knowledge and understanding of the marketplace that the board was looking for.

"I am confident he will make an outstanding contribution to the development of the company over the coming years," he said in a statement to the NZX

Morrice announced last month that he would be leaving the company at the end of 2011.

Reports of disquiet around Morrice, who has been chief executive of the company since 2004, began circulating last month, after the company posted a 2.7 per cent decline in sales for the two months ended January 2.

The softer earnings forced the company to cut its forecast first-half profit to a range of between $51 million to $54 million in the six-months ended January 30, compared to the $57 million reported in the same period a year ago.

The company said it had considered a number of options for Morrice's replacement, both within the company and internationally.

"Mark's appointment reflects well on the company's succession planning and the quality of the management group at The Warehouse," Smith said.

The company also paid tribute to Morrice's leadership over a period of unprecedented change and difficulty in the retail environment.

Shares of Warehouse rose 0.3 per cent to $3.66 today and have shed more than a third of their value in the past three years.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE