Exclusive: Primark names new executives on strategic advisory board

The news comes after Primark parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) first announced Bason’s departure and the introduction of a ”newly constituted” strategic advisory board in July 2022.

ABF chief executive George Weston called the board a “committee” of people who are expected to “add value” and bring external expertise in areas that will “be appreciated” by Marchant and the rest of the Primark team.

Brok brings experience from his previous role as Sephora chief executive. He has held several other senior positions at Nike, Starbucks and Burger King.

Chawla, who is currently chief growth and innovation officer at IT company CDW, is said to bring “a lot of digital expertise” to the board having previously been president of digital and chief marketing officer at Walgreens, as well as chief operating officer at Kohl’s.

Roussel was international sourcing and supply chain chief executive at Tesco, as well as vice chair of new business in the Asia Pacific region for Gap, and has “extensive supply chain knowledge”. He has also held senior roles at retailers including Carrefour and Sainbury’s.

The appointments come after Primark posted a surge in profits and sales and confirmed the rollout of its click-and-collect scheme across all of its stores in England, Wales and Scotland.

For the 24 weeks to March 2, 2024, Primark posted a 46% increase in operating profit to £508m and revenue increased by 7.5% to reach £4.5bn.

In terms of outlook, Weston told Retail Week that Primark is “looking good” for the second half of the year.

He said: “The rest of the year, we would like to think that volumes might improve a bit. I think some consumers, at least, have a bit more disposable income now that inflation is down and pay rises have been above inflation for many people.

“I don’t think we’ll get an enormous pickup in volumes because a better consumer sentiment waits for interest rates to come down and people’s mortgage payments to come off.

“Where we have seen weather turn in parts of southern Europe, the response to our spring/summer ranges has been really good. We’re looking good, we’re waiting for the weather in the UK to warm up a bit and then I think we will have a good second half.”