Darty appoints a new CEO-- Régis Schultz from French furniture and electrical retailer BUT, who starts leadership duties from 1 May 2013.
Schultz was BUT CEO since 2008, where he led "major" product offer and store format renewals. He was also CEO at Kingfisher DIY business B&Q. Back in the day Schultz was also 16th best tennis player in France.
He takes over from Finance Director Dimonic Platt, who was interim CEO after the September 2012 stepping down of Thierry Falque-Pierrotin due to shareholder flak over his receiving a "golden hello" worth £720000 in shares (a gift of sorts later described as a "mistake").
Meanwhile Darty France managing director Bruno Cremel steps down by "mutual agreement" by end of May 2013 following a hand over process with Schultz.
"The Board and I look forward to working with [Schultz] on our plans-– "Nouvelle Confiance"-– to restore shareholder value by eliminating losses at our non-core businesses, increasing profitability in our core businesses from our market leadership and developing future growth initiatives," chairman Alan Parker remarks.
Darty dropped its Italian operations back in November 2012, and is reportedly "exploring options" for its struggling divisions in Spain, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
