Superquinn selects Dunnes former chief as new CEO

SUPERQUINN HAS appointed former Dunnes Stores director Andrew Street as chief executive in a move that will see executive chairman Simon Burke become non-executive chairman.

Up until late last year, Mr Street had been chief operating officer at Dunnes Stores for the previous 12 years. He has also been a board member since 1996, making him the most senior non-family member on the Dunnes board until his departure.

Before that, Mr Street, a computer science graduate, worked for the chemist chain Boots for 12 years, both as a director and as a board member.

Mr Burke, who has headed Superquinn since its purchase by Select Retail Holdings in 2005, said the company had “one or two” executive positions to fill.

This includes a permanent operations director to replace Sheena Forde, who left to join Dunnes as head of buying over the summer.

James Wilson, the former trading director and number two at the retailer, has also left Superquinn and is expected to take up a position with Dunnes.

Margaret Taylor, who joined Superquinn from UGC Cinemas as managing director in 2009, has now left the company.

Mr Burke said her appointment had been on an interim basis.

The departure of key personnel has given Superquinn “the option to look at how to restructure things a bit differently than before”, Mr Burke said.

Mr Street, who will take up the chief executive role from December 2nd, described the retail environment as “challenging”.

Mr Burke said the retailer had been through “extraordinarily tough times”, but that it was “quietly optimistic” about the medium-term future following an improvement in sales.

The company, which operates 24 stores, recently opened its newest store at Heuston Station in Dublin.

Another new store, in Rathgar, Dublin, is scheduled to open next month.

Mr Burke said that while the company’s revenues had suffered from deflation in the grocery market, this was beginning to ease.

“[Prices] are not going up, but they have stopped going down,” he said, adding that he hoped the Government’s budget for 2011 would not “knock the stuffing” out of consumers.

The loss of revenue due to cross-Border shopping has also become less of a problem “as far as we’re concerned”, he said.

Select Retail Holdings, which paid a reported €450 million to buy the multiple from Feargal Quinn five years ago, is a consortium owned by Mr Burke and a number of now heavily indebted business figures.

These include developer Jerry O’Reilly, property consultants David Courtney and Bernard Doyle and hotelier Terry Sweeney.

Mr Burke reiterated yesterday that the company was not for sale.