Schuh finance director to step down
Livingston-based footwear retailer Schuh has confirmed that its finance director Mark Crutchley is leaving the business.
He is to step down on 22 September after 22 years of service, to be replaced by David Gillan-Reid who has been with the business for more than 18 years.
The company said that Crutchley, along with colleagues, "led the business through two management buy-outs and ultimately the sale to Wall-Street listed US retailer Genesco, in June 2011". The latter deal was valued at up to £125 million.
Schuh added that he saw the Scottish company grow to 125 stores from ten and turnover to £267m from £19m.
Crutchley said: “When we sold Schuh, it was always my intention to step down after overseeing our transition from a private company to being part of a leading public global footwear retailer. I am delighted that we have now reached that stage and I can leave the company safe in the knowledge that there is an exceptional team of people who will take the business forward."
Gillan-Reid is to take over the reins, having started off in 1998 as finance manager.
Managing director Colin Temple said: "I look forward to another chapter in the Schuh history, developing the new relationship with David and the rest of the Schuh management team."
The news comes two days after it emerged that the chain struggled in its final quarter, ending in January, on the back of a challenging Christmas period. However, for the year as a whole, sales increased by 7.8 per cent to £266.8m, with pre-tax profits jumping by 28.1 per cent to £15.2m.