Carpetright in the red as Lord Harris takes his leave
Shares in Carpetright fell over three per cent this morning, after the listed company announced the end of an era this morning.
Both Lord Philip Harris and his son, Martin Harris, will be leaving the company, with Wilf Walsh named as the new chief executive.
The executive chairman will retire in September, while his son will step down from his role as group development director.
Wilf Walsh, formerly of Coral, HMV and Fortuna Entertainment, will take the reins as chief on 21 July. He has over 20 years of retail experience, including eight years as managing director of Coral and six years at HMV.
Lord Harris will become chairman, having stepped down as executive chairman last year. The search for a replacement will start immediately, however.
He originally resigned as chief executive after 24 years in 2012, but returned to the firm as executive chairman following the exit of then head Darren Shapland.
The retail stalwart is also known for his revolutionary work in the education sector. The Harris Federation has taken on several academy converter schools, with Harris donating to many secondary schools in South London.
Today, he said:
I will be 72 this year and shareholders will be aware that I have been planning a managed hand-over of my responsibilities for some time. I am delighted that Wilf Walsh has agreed to join Carpetright as Chief Executive. He has strong retail and online credentials and a successful track record in managing multi-site consumer-facing businesses. I am confident that I will be leaving the business in safe hands.