Holland & Barrett International (H&B) has announced it has made two new appointments to drive growth.
Steve Carson has been appointed to the newly created position of managing director at Holland & Barrett International to drive digital transformation.
Carson, who will report to H&B CEO Peter Aldis, was formerly director of retail and customer operations at Sainsbury’s Argos, where he was responsible for 840 stores with 30,000 staff and a turnover of £4.5 billion. Prior to this he held senior roles at Argos, Homebase and Sainsbury’s.
He led Argos’ successful digital transformation strategy, turning the business into a highly-regarded ‘digital first’ company, and as retail director, he created its award-winning digital store concept, created and developed its innovative eBay partnership and managed the rollout of its Hub and Spoke delivery network.
In his new role, he will oversee the day-to-day running of Holland & Barrett including driving further growth and development in retail operations, e-commerce and supply chain.
“This appointment of Steve represents an important and strategic milestone for our business, as we look to drive digital transformation across all aspects of our business,” says Aldis. “Coming so soon after our acquisition by L1 Retail, it is a clear signal of our intent to become one of the world’s leading health and wellness brands.”
Coming so soon after our acquisition by L1 Retail, it is a clear signal of our intent to become one of the world’s leading health and wellness brands.
Aldis adds: “He will focus on our digital transformation programme and will help us continue to innovate in stores, e-commerce, logistics and supply chain as well as in customer service and fulfilment, creating the right platform for long-term sustainable digital growth.”
Carson comments: “I’m excited at the fresh challenge ahead. Holland & Barrett is a long-standing and admired brand with enormous potential and a clear health and wellbeing proposition that is growing in popularity and relevance around the world. I know the board is committed to innovation, from the supply chain through to customer service, and together with the team I look forward to helping them realise our growth and development ambitions in the coming years.”
H&B has also appointed Echo Lu as managing director of its international division to drive further organic, acquisition and franchise opportunities overseas.
Echo brings 20 years of global general management, operations and HR experience in the retail and health care industries. She spent ten years at Tesco in a variety of senior leadership roles and was most recently managing director of Homebase.
She will replace Kyle Rowe who leaves the business after almost three years building H&B’s international portfolio and seven years at the retailer in total.
“Echo is the ideal candidate to propel our international business to the next level,” says H&B CEO Peter Aldis. “She has successfully led teams in complex multicultural environments and has extensive international experience across Europe, North America and Asia. We are delighted she is joining our board and look forward to working alongside her to deliver our global ambition.”
Echo Lu adds: “I am delighted to join Holland & Barrett, which is a great business with strong heritage, expertise and passion for health and wellness. I look forward to working with the Holland & Barrett and the L1 teams to build a leading global health and wellness platform and to create sustainable long-term growth. ”
