Phil Wrigley, the former chairman of fashion retailer New Look, has been named executive chairman at Habitat.
The appointment was made by Hilco, the restructuring company that acquired the retail chain in December 2009 from IKEA founders the Kamprad family.

The Habitat Group, which trades out of 72 stores across Europe, reported losses of almost €40m during 2009/10.

In February the company announced a voluntary redundancy package, funded though a loan from Hilco, saying it expected to make annual savings in the region of €5m as a result.

Mr Wrigley will also become the first member of a new advisory board for Hilco, which has been involved in several major retail restructuring activities over recent years.

Hilco UK chief executive Paul McGowan said: "We are delighted to have Phil Wrigley as the first member of our advisory board. His extensive international retail experience will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow our European investment business with its growing portfolio of excellent brands such as Habitat, Denby and Allied Carpets.

"Having completed 10 years leading the retail restructuring market in the UK we are now positioning Hilco for the next decade and Phil will be a great addition to the team."