Boss of Dealz-Poundland discount retailer to step down

Andy Bond will remain an advisor to the Pepco board until the end of the financial year

Andy Bond, the chief executive of the owner of the Dealz and Poundland discount stores, is to step down because of health reasons at the end of March, less than a year after leading a €5bn shares flotation of the business.

Pepco Group owns around 100 stores in the Republic, 30 Poundland shops in the North as well as over 3,400 more stores across the rest of Europe, including 1,000 Pepco-branded shops in Poland.

It said it has appointed Trevor Masters, currently group chief operating officer, as  interim CEO from March 31 and will immediately start a search process with external support and will evaluate internal and external candidates for the role of CEO.

In 10 years at Pepco, seven as CEO, Mr Bond, 56, grew the business from 200 stores in a single country to over 3,500 in 19 countries.

The group listed its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in May last year.

Prior to joining Pepco, Mr Bond was the boss of UK supermarket group Asda. He will remain an advisor to the Pepco board until the end of the financial year. 

Mr Bond in October hailed its robust supply chain with Asian factories and suppliers in Pepco avoiding the shipping strains currently plaguing the world, meaning the discounter will not need to hike prices. It had posted full-year revenue of €4.1bn, with like-for-like sales up 6.5%.

Reuters and Irish Examiner