David Edwards has been appointed chief executive officer of Forty Winks, confirmed in an announcement by the bedroom retail specialist today.
The role had been vacant since former CEO, Con Dekazos, who served as the CEO of Forty Winks for two years, left the business in August 2016.
The bedding retailer said Edwards was appointed following an extensive search process
“As we closed last year with the opening of three new stores across the country, we now set our sights on the future with David Edwards at the helm,” said Paul Amos, chairman of the board of directors at Forty Winks.
“We are confident that we have welcomed a passionate leader with a team approach, who understands that the strength of any franchise group starts with ensuring that the committed franchisees, the lifeblood of the brand, are performing to their best ability.”
Edwards brings over 30 years’ experience in retail, having first held general management roles at Myer across both buying and operations. He later joined The Laminex Group, initially serving four years as GM of sales and marketing, followed by a further two years as GM of operations.
During this time, Laminex was acquired by Fletcher Building, which saw Edwards move to New Zealand where he served three years as CEO of Fletcher Distribution, which trades under the PlaceMakers brand, a leading hardware retailer. Returning to Australia, Edwards joined Mitre 10/Metcash, where he served as GM of retail trade and sales, GM of joint ventures and alliances and eventually as GM of strategy – building products.
Edwards also served on several influential Mitre 10 joint venture boards, where he developed “a passion for independent retail”.
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to lead Australia’s iconic bedroom retail specialist, Forty Winks,” he said.
“Independent business owners are the backbone of Australian retail, so I look forward to working closely with our dedicated franchisees across the country to achieve continued growth and success.”
The bedding retailer has recently expanded its store network, with three new stores opening in Victoria (Springvale), New South Wales (Marsden Park) and Queensland (Mackay).
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