The Warehouse Group (TWG), New Zealand’s largest listed retailer, has appointed Nick Grayston as group chief executive.

The appointment follows the announcement in March 2015 that the board had commenced a process to recruit a new group chief executive.

Grayston will join TWG in December 2015 from Sears Holdings in Chicago where he has held a number of senior leadership positions, including president of footwear, home, fine jewellery and apparel.

While at Sears he gained a wealth of experience in leading change from traditional retail into omnichannel and integrated retail, building profitable businesses, driving operational turnarounds, changing business models and leading high-performance teams.

Prior to Sears, Grayston held senior executive positions with Foot Locker, Inc. companies, including president and CEO of Foot Locker, Footaction and Kid’s Foot Locker in New York and other leadership roles in Canada and Europe. Grayston also previously held planning, allocation and merchandising roles at a number of leading retailers in the UK, including Laura Ashley, Woolworths, Debenhams and Marks and Spencer.

Chairman Ted van Arkel said that Nick is a highly qualified retailer with extensive international experience and the skills required to drive profitable growth for TWG from the strong foundations that have been built. Nick’s experience in both physical stores and online is very relevant to the current growth trends in retailing.

Mark Powell will continue in the role of group CEO until early 2016 to ensure a seamless transition of the group CEO role.

The Warehouse, which in September posted a 5.9 per cent drop in annual profit, is seeking to generate earnings growth following a $100 million “refresh” program for its stores, the acquisition of Noel Leeming and Torpedo 7, and its move into online sales.

The company’s shares last traded at $2.71 and have slipped 13 per cent so far this year.