Foxcroft to lead ‘new era’ at Italtile when the CEO retires

ITALTILE yesterday announced the retirement of chief executive Jan Potgieter at the end of December, saying he was emigrating to Europe.

Potgieter has served Italtile, whose retail brands include CTM, Italtile Retail, Top T and U-Light, for eight years, first as chief operating officer in 2014 and subsequently as chief executive from 2016.

Italtile named Lance Foxcroft, the chief executive of Italtile subsidiary, Ceramic Industries, as Potgieter’s successor with effect from January 1, next year. It said Potgieter would remain on the board as a non-executive director.

“Lance’s appointment formalises the group’s succession plan, developed over the past five years.

“He has worked closely with Jan over the past four years since Italtile acquired Ceramic in 2017, and the handover period will ensure a seamless transition to a new era for the business,” said the group.

Italtile said Foxcroft was scheduled to assume his position as chief executive-designate in July this year, while Tsepo Molefakgotla, Ceramic’s current chief operating officer, would succeed him as chief executive at Ceramic, effective from July 1.

Commenting on his retirement, Potgieter said that having worked closely with Foxcroft since Italtile acquired Ceramic in 2017 he was confident that the business had appointed the best leader to drive its strategy going forward.

“Not only does he have an extremely strong track record at Ceramic, but he has been instrumental in supporting the group’s retail achievements through an intensified focus on fashion and customer service in the supply chain division,” said Potgieter.

Italtile recorded an 18.5 percent jump in retail store sales during the nine months ended March 2021 as home improvement gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Potgieter said to achieve Italtile’s goal of being the best retailer of tiles and sanitaryware in Africa, the group’s overriding strategy had been to ensure that it controlled and optimised the shopping experience from factory gate to the homes of customers by establishing a powerful retail structure underpinned by a formidable integrated supply chain.

“The group is now ready to enter the second phase, focused on building manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for our products both in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

“The severe disruption of global supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has endorsed our belief that having total control of our own supply chain is critical,” Potgieter said.

Italtile shares closed 0.35 percent lower at R17 on the JSE yesterday.