Dickson resigns as KoL chairman

Kingdom of Leather executive chairman Peter Dickson has resigned to pursue other business interests. He was behind the two-year overhaul of the furniture specialist.

Dickson leaves the business in the hands of managing director Steven Winetroube, recruited as commercial director last July. Winetroube will continue to work with investor Barclays Private Equity on expansion prospects.

Carl Grierson has also been promoted to the role of buying and merchandising director.

Dickson said he had originally been appointed in a company doctor capacity for a two-year period to reposition the business. He said: 'Where Kingdom of Leather was in the terms of market position (low- to middle-market) was a difficult place to be. There is a huge amount of competition.

'The move to the top end has enabled higher margins and now we don't have the same head-to-head competition.'

Dickson oversaw a£1.5 million store-improvement programme. Stores have been rebadged KoL, and new point-of-sale and presentation material has been introduced. He also resolved supply chain issues, stripping four weeks off the average delivery time.

Accounts filed at Companies House show profit before tax up from£663,000 to£682,000 in the year to 30 June last year. Sales rose from£23.4 million to£24.96 million.