Premier Investments has announced that Richard Murray will take up the role of CEO at Premier Retail in October, following Mark McInnes' decision to step down.
Murray joins Premier Retail after a 17-year career at electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi where he served in high level positions including CFO, CEO and now Group CEO.
Speaking on Murray's appointment, Premier chairman Solomon Lew said the business is thrilled to add Murray to the team.
"On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to announce Richard’s appointment to the role of CEO Premier Retail.
"Richard is unquestionably one of the best retailers in Australia, having delivered significant growth, transformation and shareholder value during his career at the JB Hi-Fi Group.
"Richard’s appointment continues Premier’s track record of recruiting and retaining the best executives in the industry," he said.
Murray's appointment comes after long-serving CEO Mark McInnes announced his decision to step down from the role in January.
McInnes will commence gardening leave following the completion of the 2021 full year trading period.
Under the terms of McInnes’ employment contract, Premier has elected to exercise a 12-month restraint ending in January 2023 and is entitled to exercise a further 12-month restraint through to January 2024.
Lew thanked McInnes for his decade of service to the Group.
"The Board thanks Mark for his stewardship of Premier Retail over the past ten years.
"Mark has guided the business to deliver record year-on-year operational and financial performance across the retail cycle via the relentless and consistent pursuit of Premier’s strategy.
"Mark will leave Premier in a very strong position following the Group’s FY2021 year end.
"It is a great credit to Premier and its Board that we have been able to attract highly regarded leaders such as Mark, Richard and our outstanding senior leadership team," he said.
Murray's appointment comes as Premier Retail reports strong sales growth for the first half of the 21 financial year.
During the period, the Group delivered a 7.2% increase in global sales to $784.6 million, while global like-for-like sales were up 18.2%.
Premier Retail also recorded signficant eCommerce sales in the half, reporting a 61.3% increase to $156.7 million in digital sales - confirming the retailer's decision to close underperforming stores.
Lew added that Murray will help to further drive growth and execute the business' strategy.
"This is the beginning of a new chapter for Premier as the Group continues to grow its brands both locally and globally while carefully managing through continued pandemic conditions across numerous jurisdictions.
"With a very strong balance sheet Premier is exceptionally well placed to continue to grow our existing businesses and seek out new opportunities into the future.
"We look forward to welcoming Richard to our strong and committed team of more than 9,000 people," he said.
Murray will officially commence his role at Premier Retail on October 04 2021.