For the sports-mad managing director of Comet, transforming the business is a marathon and not a sprint. George MacDonald reports

Hugh Harvey

As a young man, sports mad Comet managing director Hugh Harvey was a keen sprinter. The business race that probably suits him best, however, would be the marathon.

Harvey, who has headed Comet since 2003, has been with the business as it passed many milestones, from Kingfisher ownership to demerger to the cut-throat competitive environment of the moment, when electricals retailing is in the midst of rapid change.

As in long-distance running, there have been frequent changes of position at the front of the race. Just a few years ago Comet, which focused on a reputation for service, seemed to be breathing down the neck of leader Dixons, which was looking distinctly out of breath.

But Dixons subsequently found fresh energy under John Browett and upped the pace. At the same time Best Buy hurtled up from nowhere, determined to take first place on the podium despite its late arrival on the UK track.

Suddenly Comet looked exposed, but the unshowy Harvey has responded with a new spurt of energy. The retailer last week unveiled a rebranding designed to associate Comet with fun and family friendliness, distinguishing it from its rivals and their giant sheds.

Perhaps appropriately for a former marketing man - Harvey held sales and marketing jobs at Kodak and Black and Decker before joining Kingfisher - a rebranding is at the centre of the latest changes at Comet.

The retailer has adopted the strapline ‘Come and play’ as it pushes to differentiate itself from rivals by

focusing on the quality of customer experience it can provide in its stores, which it believes can provide personality missing from the megastores preferred by competitors.

Harvey does not fit the typical stereotype of the flamboyant, extrovert or even overbearing marketing man. He is much more low-key. Even analysts who follow Comet parent Kesa admit they do not really know the man who runs the UK’s number two electricals retailer.

Kingfisher founder Sir Geoff Mulcahy describes Harvey as “the sort of person who gets on with the job”. He says: “He doesn’t go for a high profile but he can absolutely be relied upon and has a lot of knowledge about the product and the industry.

“It’s quite unusual in retail to come across people who keep a low profile and are good at their jobs - it’s more often the other way around.”

But that retiring style does not mean that Harvey lacks leadership qualities.

Mulcahy says: “He’s someone who people respect. He’s a people and operations person, a practical guy. His feet are very firmly on the ground and he pays attention to detail.”

HMV chief executive Simon Fox, Harvey’s predecessor at Comet, says: “I think very highly of Hugh. He’s very thoughtful and very dedicated. Electricals is a tough business but he’s a very good manager.”

Having spent so much of his career in electricals, Harvey will be able to draw upon this experience as he squares up to resist the advance of Dixons and the Best Buy invasion.

Kesa was scheduled to issue a trading update as Retail Week went to press. The signs are that there is a renewed sense of purpose at the business and that success will be achieved over the long run and not a short sprint.

Hugh Harvey

  • Lives Hertfordshire
  • Family Married with three children
  • Likes Rugby, sprinting
  • Education BSc (Hons) from UMIST, Manchester