DIYWEEK.net

Among recent changes at The Garden Centre Group, two new people have been appointed to its executive team.
Dan Zinner will join the company as its trading director on October 14, taking over from Stephen Pitcher. Mr Zinner will lead all aspects of The Garden Centre Group's buying, pricing and supply decisions, and report to CEO Kevin Bradshaw.

He joins the company from Clicks Group, a South African retail group with a focus on the health and beauty sector, where he has worked for the past five years, and was responsible for sourcing and marketing own label products for the business. Prior to working at Clicks, Mr Zinner spent a number of years at McKinsey & Company, in London, advising on strategic and transformational change across a broad range of consumer and retail industries.

Mr Pitcher has worked as The Garden Centre Group's purchasing director since 2008, but has now decided to leave the business following a transition period.

Also, Colin Hughes will join the company as retail operations director, responsible for leadership of regional garden centre teams, overseeing service, standards and performance. He joins on a permanent basis after leading a number of initiatives at the company in his role as interim retail operations director over the past six months. Mr Hughes has held similar roles at Marks & Spencer, Pret a Manger and EAT. Whilst at EAT, he oversaw the expansion in the UK retail estate to 117 shops.

Chief executive of The Garden Centre Group, Kevin Bradshaw, said: "I am very pleased to welcome Dan and Colin to our talented executive team. Dan is a highly experienced strategist and manager in the retail industry with an impressive track record for driving results. Colin has already hit the ground running during the past six months, providing strong leadership and direction to our regional teams. I look forward to Dan and Colin's expertise and skilled leadership as we drive toward meeting our growth targets for the Group."

On the departure of Mr Pitcher, Mr Bradshaw added: "We thank Steve for all he has accomplished for the Group, including delivering strong margins, reducing stock levels and building a team with deep knowledge of horticultural sourcing. We wish him the best as he leaves to pursue new challenges."