DSGi has drafted in Roy Perticucci, a former operations director at Tesco.com who knew Browett when both worked for the grocery giant. Like Browett, Perticucci worked in the past for Boston Consulting, which has been advising DSGi.
Perticucci will be part of DSGi’s senior team just below board level and is likely to focus on improving the retailer’s customer service through supply chain initiatives, as well as in-store changes.
His appointment follows last month’s hiring of former John Menzies chief executive Patrick Macdonald – another ex-Boston man – as chief operating officer. The move is illustrative of the importance likely to be placed on operational improvements as Browett battles to restore the international store group’s fortunes.
One source familiar with Perticucci thought that his multichannel experience would be useful at DSGi. He said: “The DSGi online experience is not as seamless as, say, Argos. Browett and Perticucci’s dot-com experience at Tesco implies it would be applied at DSGi.”
Next Thursday is likely to be one of the biggest days in the retail calendar so far this year, when Browett reveals findings from his strategic review.
Browett only took the helm last December, but has had to confront fundamental problems. DSGi has issued two profit warnings this year and signalled the likely closure of 40 stores in Italy, one of its most troubled markets.
Further evidence of the scale of the challenge Browett faces came on Wednesday, when the BRC’s Shop Price Index revealed steep price deflation in electricals – 4.8 per cent year on year last month and averaging 5.6 per cent over the past 12 months.
Investec analyst David Jeary is especially concerned about the outlook for DSGi’s PC World. He said: “PC World is, in our view, a larger scale version of Jessops and its problems.”
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