Bombay Taps New CEO

June 5, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2006 The Bombay Co. has named a former Blockbuster Video executive as its new chief executive officer.

David Stewart, 67, succeeds James Carreker in the position. Carreker ended his employment with the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer Saturday, which marked the end of his contract. Stewart will also serve as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Prior to joining Bombay, Stewart was president of Blockbuster Video Canada from 2000 until April 2006 where he led a turnaround followed by a growth in the company’s store network and profits. In addition, Stewart has more than 35 years of retail experience in key management and merchandising positions at a variety of specialty retailers and department stores in the U.S. and Canada.

“We are delighted to have Dave on board,” Nigel Travis, lead director of the board of directors, said. “He has great leadership skills and brings a wide range of successful experience in varied industries, including an understanding of the home space. He has strong merchandising and marketing background, but most of all, in our view, is a great leader of people. In his previous roles, Dave has demonstrated an ability to identify winning strategies and then to execute the plan, particularly at store level. His experience in the restructuring and stabilization of companies in a turnaround mode will be a great asset to the company.”

Prior to joining Blockbuster Canada, Stewart was president and chief executive officer of Marks & Spencer Canada, a subsidiary of Marks and Spencer Group, a retailer of mid-priced clothing, food and household items, where he led a repositioning and profit turnaround and ultimately the wind down of the 50 store Canadian operations. From 1993 to 1997, he was president and chief executive officer of UCS Group, a multi-concept national specialty retail chain with more than 500 stores in Canada, where he was credited with returning the company to profitability, developing a more streamlined organization and managing the company through a change of control to a European buyer.

“I am very energized about the opportunity here at Bombay,” Stewart said. “The company has a great brand and has established a unique niche in the specialty home furnishings arena. I recognize that there is much work to be done, and I look forward to being able to provide the leadership that will be required to lead the company to profitable growth through these difficult times. I will be very focused on the quality of our store execution and providing an exciting customer experience as we strive to quickly return Bombay to profitability.”

The retailer has 479 retail stores and a catalog, and also markets its home furnishings through its Web site.