Holland & Barrett bolsters board as it eyes £1bn sales

Among the changes, current chief operating officer Martin Moran has been promoted to chief commercial officer. He replaces Lysa Hardy, who left last month to join fashion retailer Joules.

Former Dunelm and Halfords executive Andy Torrance, who joined Holland & Barrett in May, will take over as chief operating officer, having been shadowing Moran since he joined.

Torrance will be responsible for the firm’s UK and Ireland retail operations and will take responsibility for Europe next year.

Holland & Barrett, which is owned by US-based NBTY, said the shake-up aimed to “create a more integrated business to meet the changing needs of customers”.

In its last full year, UK sales surged 15% to £424.7m. Holland & Barrett has about 1,000 stores, including franchise outlets in Europe and Asia.

Ecommerce director Emma Mead has also been promoted to the board as group digital director as part of a re-shaping of her role while the group invests heavily in digital.

The group also launched a shop-in-shop partnership with grocery giant Tesco in July.

Holland & Barrett International’s chief executive, Peter Aldis, said: “This opportunity to reshape our executive board means we can add a further depth and breadth to our focus on both our people and our customers.”

The changes, he added, put the business “in an excellent position to deliver our ambition to become a £1bn business by 2020”.

Other changes include managing director of Benelux, Colinda Hoegee, being promoted to the board as Holland & Barrett broke the 200-store barrier in the region.

Outgoing group legal director Roger Craddock has been replaced by Lisa Garley Evans. And group distribution director Mark Kendrick has retired from the business.