American Golf, Europe’s leading multi-channel retailer of golf equipment and accessories, has announced Kevin Styles as Chief Executive Officer, alongside a 25% growth in sales in the last 12 months.
Styles was previously CEO of Habitat, where he was responsible for preparing the business for its sale to Home Retail Group last year. Prior to Habitat, he was UK Marketing Director for electrical retailer Best Buy, which he joined following a five-year career with Kingfisher’s Trade Depot, ultimately rising to Managing Director. Earlier roles included main Board positions with off-licence chain Threshers and Thomas Cook.
At American Golf, he will be responsible for overseeing the specialist retailer’s domestic and European expansion, following its acquisition by Sun European Partners last year.
It expects to open around eight new stores each year in the UK, focusing primarily on the south east, as well as launching into new territories such as France, Germany and Sweden.
The business, which operates a 90-strong retail estate, announced the appointment alongside a 25% increase in total sales to £108.1m in its latest filed accounts (to 29 January 2012), driven by strong like for like sales and seven new store openings. Underlying profits (ebitda) rose from £4.9m to £8.8m
It generates around 15% of sales from its online platforms, where European revenues already represent around 30%.
Styles said: “I’m very excited to be leading the next stage of growth at American Golf. This is a fantastic business with fantastic people unified by one purpose – to help improve people’s game.
“We have a unique position as Europe’s leading specialist multi-channel retailer in a global and growing sport. Our model, which combines superior product knowledge, first-class execution and unbeatable value, has continued to deliver strong like for like sales this year despite a challenging retail climate.
“With the backing of Sun European Partners and a loyal customer base, we’re ideally placed to capture further market share inEuropeas we extend our footprint and continue to make significant investments in our digital business.”
American Golf www.americangolf.co.uk