The new boss of Topps Tiles said he is looking forward to getting his teeth into Britain’s biggest tile retailer.
Rob Parker said despite the listed company’s dominant position in the market, there was room for growth.
It comes as latest figures show annual sales up marginally at £219.2 million.
While sales to householders and tradespeople remained steady, he said there were clear opportunities to build the company’s place in the commercial side of the market – supplying big clients such as architects, interior designers, contractors and developers.
Topps has invested heavily in the commercial side of things recently, buying the Leicestershire-based Parkside business in 2017 and more recently taking an 80 per cent stake in Strata Tiles.
Mr Parker is currently the Leicestershire-based company’s chief finance officer, and will take over from outgoing chief executive Matt Williams on Friday.
Mr Williams announced earlier this month that the time was right for a new challenge.
Mr Parker said: “I’m really excited and delighted to be offered the opportunity.
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“I’ve worked very closely with Matt for the past 12 years, but this is a great opportunity for me to get a new strategy in place.
“We are still the clear leader and we see lots of opportunity for growth in the commercial market.
“The target for the year is to make commercial break even and we are pretty pleased with its turnover of £5 million – which will hopefully get to double digits for the year ahead.”
The qualified accountant and joined the Topps Tiles board in 2007 as finance director.
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During his time there he has taken on increasing responsibilities for areas such as finance, IT, legal, logistics, property and HR.
Prior to joining Topps, he was at Savers Health & Beauty and Boots for more than 10 years.
He takes over just days after the latest annual trading figures came out for the business.
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They showed revenues up 1.1 per cent to £219.2 million in the year to the end of September, while pre-tax profits were down 1.6 per cent to £12.5 million.
Despite relatively flat results, the company was able to find £4.9 million to pay down its debt, year-on-year, to £11.3 million.
However, in the most recent two months, sales were 7 per cent down on the same time last year due to the “heightened political and economic uncertainty”.
Mr Parker said: “Financially, against the context of a pretty challenging backdrop, the group is performing well, with like-for-like sales growth and flat underlying profit.
“That has allowed us to maintain a stable dividend and allow us to invest in the business and reduce net debt.”
Matt Williams has been with the business – which was founded by his father – for 20 years, including more than a decade as chief executive.
In that time he has rebranded Topps and overseen the move into the commercial sector.
He said consumer confidence had been “very much subdued in the past year”, made worse by a December election being called.
He said this should be the busiest trading time for Topps, with people wanting to make their homes look nice for Christmas.
Mr Williams will stay on in an advisory capacity until May, but said he wanted to give more time to some commercial property interests and developments, which his family is involved in.
He added: “Then, after that we will see what comes.
“There is a tinge of sadness. I love the business and there will always be a special place for it in my heart.
“But I’ve been chief executive for 12 years and it is probably time for me to do something else and for different leadership.”