Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Department store group House of Fraser has announced the appointment of Alex Williamson as chief executive officer, effective July 31, ‘to put further emphasis on delivering a premium shopping experience for customers’.
Alex was enlisted from Goodwood, where he has held the role of chief executive since December 2012. He joined the West Sussex sporting estate (home to the Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and the Qatar Goodwood Festival) in 2008 as chief financial officer and was promoted to group managing director and then to chief executive officer.
Prior to joining Goodwood, Alex acted as head of finance for TUI Travel and held a variety of other posts and responsibilities across the leisure and hospitality sectors.
Frank Slevin, executive chairman of House of Fraser, commented: “Having recently set out our vision for the future of House of Fraser, we’re delighted to announce the appointment of Alex as our new chief executive officer. He is uniquely placed to execute our vision, and to contribute his extensive expertise of delivering compelling and engaging experiences for the customer.
“Over the last two years, we’ve built a very strong management team, with particular expertise across the key disciplines in retail. This has enabled us to make an appointment that is a clear statement of the direction we intend to take, in placing the customer at the centre of our business.
“House of Fraser operates in an exciting and challenging market, requiring an ability to innovate and manage an increasing pace of change. I’m confident Alex will be able to add his perspective and skill of running the Goodwood Estate – one of the great British heritage brands – to the benefit of our continued growth.”
Alex said: “I’m very pleased to be taking on this role at such a pivotal time for House of Fraser: another great premium British brand. I’m looking forward to working with Frank and the strong management team to bring to bear House of Fraser‘s engaging and innovative vision.”
House of Fraser operates 59 stores across the UK and Ireland. The group has annual sales of £1.3 billion and employs 5,000 House of Fraser staff and 12,500 concession staff through over 4 million sq ft of selling space.
