The appointment comes in the same week that Woolworths agreed a four-year refinancing package totalling£385 million with Bank of Ireland and GMAC Commercial Finance.
Lewis was previously managing director of retail and distribution at Woolworths stores division and replaces EUK incumbent Lloyd Wigglesworth.
Woolworths revealed in its Christmas update that, although the retail arm would return to profit this year, EUK’s profit would be down, because of higher-than-expected operating costs.
However, Woolworths chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones said: “EUK is a business that has grown hugely over the past three years. Lloyd Wigglesworth has done a great job developing the business and making acquisitions. It is a£1.6 billion turnover entity. The key task now is operational delivery and Steve is our man.”
However, Pali International analyst Nick Bubb said: “It’s not clear why the talents of Lewis are much greater than Wigglesworth. I suspect they need someone to focus on getting it all running smoothly.”
He added: “The key questions are what is Woolworths’ retail side worth, what is its future and can it be separated from EUK? Profit will soon fade away.”
Bish-Jones said: “We are in the process of making all three businesses successful in their own right and for Woolworths retail to move back into profitability. We will look at the structure as and when. We made a good step last year, but it depends on how much progress we can make in the years to come.”
Coinciding with Lewis’s appointment, Woolworths named former Tesco director Simon Turner as retail and distribution operations director.
Separately, EUK has appointed Darryl Tunstall to the new role of mobiles business manager. EUK sales and marketing director Rob Salter said supply and distribution of mobile phones and content will become a key market.
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