Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Ewan McMahon has been appointed to the post of retail operations director at Homebase, reporting to managing director Echo Lu. He took up the position on December 7.
Ewan brings 25 years of retail experience to the role, having started on the shop floor as a management trainee at Tesco. Subsequently, Ewan has held a variety of leadership roles at Tesco in the UK, Japan and Turkey.
More recently, Ewan led the Tesco Extra Format in the UK as operations director, and since 2011 he has worked as the chief operating officer of Tesco’s Turkish business, where he was responsible for store and central operations, supply chain, online business and distribution.
On his appointment, Echo Lu said: “Throughout his career Ewan has demonstrated principled leadership, cultural adaptability, and a strong track record of delivering positive change through people in challenging environments. I’m confident that he will be a great addition to the leadership team and a huge asset for Homebase.”
Ewan added: “I’m excited to be joining Homebase and have been impressed by the enthusiasm and calibre of colleagues I’ve met so far. I’m looking forward to helping the business shape a new direction for home improvement that is very clearly focused on helping customers to create a home they love.”
Homebase is a home enhancement retailer with around 58 million transactions a year, selling about 38,000 products for the home and garden. It has 271 large, out-of-town stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland and a growing internet offering at www.homebase.co.uk. In the financial year to February 2015, Homebase sales were £1.5 billion and it employed some 17,000 people across the business. Homebase is part of Home Retail Group.
