Dunelm chairman Geoff Cooper to be replaced by non-exec Andy Harrison

• Current chairman Geoff Cooper to step down after 10 years
• Non exec director Andy Harrison to take up role as Dunelm chairman
• Harrison takes up position alongside his current role of Whitbread chief executive

Harrison will step up to the role of chairman from July 7 2015.

Harrison joined the board in September 2014 and he is also chief executive officer at Whitbread, having previously been boss of easyJet and RAC.  

Will Adderley, chief executive said: “Since Geoff joined Dunelm 11 years ago, the business has grown more than three-fold in both sales and profits. He has been instrumental in our success, and his leadership has been inspirational. On a personal note, the advice and knowledge that he has passed onto me has been invaluable.

“So we will miss Geoff, but we are really fortunate to have someone of Andy’s calibre and experience ready to step into his shoes. We are all looking forward to working with him as our chairman for our next phase of growth.”

Harrison added: “I am delighted to have been asked to take on the role of chairman. Under Will Adderley’s renewed leadership as chief executive, there is a clear and ambitious focus on growth being created throughout the organisation, which is fully supported by the board. This is therefore a very exciting time for Dunelm.” 

Dunelm’s sales have begun to moderate this year as the homewares retailer came up against strong comparatives from the same period last year.

Earlier this month, it recorded a 4.9% increase in like-for-like growth during the quarter ending March 28 as sales moderated from the 6.2% growth in the first half of the financial year. Total revenues for the quarter grew by 10.7% to £216.2m.