JB Hi Fi has appointed a female CEO to head their New Zealand operation.
Cherie Kerrison the former Owner and General Manager of The Appliance Shed will take on the new role effective from the 1st of October 2018.
Richard Murray Group CEO of JB Hi Fi said “Cherie is an experienced and well respected retailer in New Zealand, she has strong supplier relationships, a deep understanding of the New Zealand retail market, and a proven track record in building successful teams. Cherie will bring a wealth of strategic and operational experience to our business along with a proven track record in the New Zealand”
Rod Korff, the General Manager of Buying at JB Hi Fi New Zealand is set to return to Australia where he will take up a role in the new team under CEO Cameron Trainor.
Murray said ” Rod has been in in this role for 3 years. Over that time, he has overseen a number of changes in our NZ business including the rebranding of 4 JB HI-FI home stores, the launch of the NZ website in 2017 and the growth in online sales”.
The restructure comes as JB Hi Fi looks to turn their New Zealand operation around.
In their latest financials the big CE retailer reported a $2.9 million loss for their NZ operation in the 12 months ended June 30 from an ebit-loss of $2.7 million a year earlier.
Revenue was down 1.1 per cent to $231.5 million.
The Company has forecasts revenue of $220 million for the New Zealand operation in the 2019 financial year.
“The JB Hi-Fi New Zealand business continues to be repositioned to improve performance, with the exit of whitegoods and rebranding of the four stores to JB Hi-Fi completed in FY18,” Murray said recently.
He added “We will continue to execute on strategy to improve performance” in the New Zealand unit”.
Overall JB Hi-Fi’s group sales climbed 22 per cent to A$6.9 billion, underpinning a 12 per cent gain in profit to A$233.2 million. The board declared a final dividend of 46 Australian cents per share, taking the annual return to A$1.32, up from A$1.18 a year earlier.