Reuters have reported today that Kesa Electricals who operate as Comet in the UK and are Europe’s third-biggest electricals retailer said that Hugh Harvey, managing director of its Comet business in the UK, has left the firm.
A spokesman for Kesa said on today that Harvey, the managing director since 2006, had left Comet with immediate effect and been succeeded by commercial director Bob Darke.
“There’s no denying the trading environment’s difficult but he’s left to pursue other interests,” the spokesman said of Harvey’s departure. However the change seems quite sudden and comes on teh back of a profit warning that was issued in January by Comet leading to some speculation over the sudden change.
Kesa is due to update on trading on May 11 and is widely expected to report losses.
In January the firm said full-year profit would be at the lower end of then expectations due to bad weather and weaker sales in Britain following a hike in VAT but many analysts expect this to be a full year loss.
Kesa has recently also been the subject of speculation about a break-up amid stakebuilding by activist shareholder Knight Vinke, forecast Comet would make a small loss in the year to April, following a 7.3 percent drop in underlying third-quarter sales. There have also been widespread rumours that Kesa may sell off the Comet to chain to a rival, the primary suspect being the US company Best Buy as a possible buyer.
Shares in Kesa, which have lost 19 percent of their value over the last six months, were up 0.4 percent at 129.35 pence at 1327 GMT, valuing the business at about £683 million.