PnP appoints international retail expert as head of merchandising

Pick n Pay's new head of merchandising, Helmut Hoerz.

Hoerz, who takes up his new position on 19 January, will bring his international expertise into play in focusing largely on general merchandise while guiding Peter Arnold, who has been appointed Food Merchandise Director and will report to Hoerz. Arnold, a 27-year veteran with a wealth of retail experience in South Africa, played an integral part in the opening of Pick n Pay's new generation, cutting-edge flagship store, Pick n Pay on Nicol. Arnold will also sit on the Group Exco.

Hoerz has more than 25 years' experience in managing sales, marketing, category management, operations, merchandising and expansion in all retail formats including wholesale distribution in organizations with considerable size and scope.

"Helmut is a results-focused and effective leader with proven abilities and strong qualifications in general management, business planning, strategy, analysis, brand-building, brand-implementations and store operations. He is very well regarded in the European food industry and will bring much in international expertise to the company," said Badminton.

"Not only does Helmut have very strong corporate retail experience, but he has also been a successful entrepreneur. His last position was Chief Sales Officer at Ifco Systems in the Netherlands and prior to that, as COO for Edeka AG in Germany, conducting worldwide sourcing for this €38-billion, 250,000-employee company. His procurement experience at Edeka in particular will be of incredible value to Pick n Pay."

Prior to Edeka, Hoerz was CEO of Extra GmbH, a company with a €3-billion turnover and 22,000 employees, where he successfully merged eight supermarket companies owned by Metro (the holding company) into one successful chain and halted declining sales, centralising administrative functions and standardising IT systems.