Wilko owner poaches Matalan property director
The owner of Wilko and The Range has recruited Matalan’s property director as it looks to pursue its expansion plans.
CDS Superstores has appointed Antony Darbyshire as head of property, with his responsibilities including the rollout of Wilko’s concept stores across the UK and Northern Ireland.
He will also oversee the 200-strong portfolio of The Range stores.
Darbyshire has over 30 years of experience in the retail property sector and has spent the last ten years at Matalan. Prior to this, he was Sports Direct’s head of property at Frasers Group for nine years.
Alex Simpkin, chief executive of CDS Superstores, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Antony to our leadership team. His extensive experience and expertise in property management are exactly what we need as we accelerate our expansion plans and build on our success to date.
“Antony will play a critical role in ensuring that both The Range and Wilko continue to thrive and reach even more communities across the UK.
“We are particularly excited about the opportunities to regrow the Wilko brand through our innovative new concept stores and encourage landlords with suitable spaces to proactively contact us regarding potential occupancy as we ramp up our store launch programme.”
Wilko – which was rescued out of administration by The Range last September – is set to open its sixth concept store in Poole on 16 August, following openings in Exeter, Luton, Plymouth, Rotherham, and St Albans.