Release Date: 2007/08/17
Cape Town – Specialist retail group New Clicks Holdings has announced the appointment of Ralph Lorenz as managing director of Musica, the largest entertainment and music retail business in the country, from 1 September 2007.
An experienced retailer with over 20 years service in the Foschini Group, Lorenz (46) has been operations director of menswear chain Markham since 2002.
He replaces Colin Robb who has been with Musica for 16 years, the past five as managing director, and has decided to move on to new challenges.
New Clicks group chief executive, David Kneale, complimented Robb on the role he has played “in managing Musica’s successful transition from a purely music business into an entertainment specialist. Only four years after adopting this strategy, already over 40% of Musica’s turnover is being generated from non-music merchandise such as DVD, gaming and lifestyle accessories,” he said.
Kneale said the directors and management believe Ralph Lorenz has the credentials to lead Musica into its next growth phase. “Ralph is an energetic and astute retailer who is passionate about people management. We are confident that he can lead the young management team in building on the successes of the past.”
Lorenz acknowledged that Musica has incredible growth potential in the local entertainment retail market. “Our main priority will be to continue transforming Musica into a specialist entertainment retailer as DVD and gaming become more popular and affordable.”
“Musica is committed to broadening access to the brand and aggressively expanding the store footprint which has remained relatively static in recent years. The increasing spending power of the middle class consumer market is creating further opportunities for opening new stores.”
Musica currently enjoys an estimated 22% share of the local entertainment market and has 148 stores nationally, “with the potential to grow this to around 200 stores in the medium-term”, added Kneale.
Ends
Issued by Tier 1 Investor Relations on behalf of the Clicks Group
For further information kindly contact
Graeme Lillie, Tier 1 Investor Relations 021 702 3102 / 082 468 1507