Kingfisher's Castorama boss to quit next year

Mr Bricolage SA

12/06/2014 14:04

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Philippe Tible, chief executive 
of Kingfisher's  KGF.L  Castorama and Brico Depot brands is to 
leave Europe's No. 1 home improvement group next year, the firm 
said on Thursday. 
    Kingfisher said Tible will step down from the board and the 
executive team at the end of July but will remain with the 
business until January 2015 to help with negotiations to buy Mr 
Bricolage  MBRI.PA  - a 275 million euros ($374 million) deal 
Kingfisher announced in April.  ID:nL5N0MV17N  
    Tible is currently responsible for the group's Castorama and 
Brico Depot businesses, which are mainly in France but also 
trade in eastern Europe. 
    Kingfisher said Véronique Laury, CEO of Castorama France, 
and Alain Souillard, CEO Brico Dépôt brand International, will 
both be promoted to the group executive team, which sits below 
the group's main Plc board. 
    As well as negotiating the Mr Bricolage deal the group is 
currently rolling-out a new Castorama store format in France and 
expanding Brico Depot in France and other European markets. 
    "As we enter a new phase of our development, it is clear 
that the business needs the next generation of leaders to 
oversee these plans," said Kingfisher Chairman Daniel Bernard. 
    Tible will be eligible for compensation for loss of office, 
though details are yet to be disclosed. Shares in Kingfisher, up 
12 percent over the last year, were down 0.4 percent. 
    Tony Shiret, analyst at Espirito Santo Investment Bank, who 
has a sell stance on the stock, said Tible's exit was "bad 
news". 
    "Genuinely talented retailers have been in desperately short 
supply over the last 10-15 years. So to cast one aside seems to 
us fundamentally a wrong decision." 
($1 = 0.7345 Euros) 
 
 (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) 
 ((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com)(+44 20 7542 7674)(Reuters 
Messaging: james.davey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: KINGFISHER CASTORAMA/