Low has appointed Henrik Nordvall, the former Managing Director of H&M for the UK and Ireland, as its new CEO. He will be a part of the enterprise in February 2026.
Nordvall brings 17 years of expertise from H&M, the place he held a number of roles throughout a number of international locations. Most lately, he led the UK and Ireland division – H&M’s third-largest market – overseeing revenues of $1.5 billion.
Henrik Nordvall, incoming CEO, stated: “I’m thrilled to affix Matalan as the brand new CEO from February 2026. Matalan is on a really thrilling journey on delivering on a regular basis model, high quality and worth to their clients and I’m excited to start out contributing to the enterprise.
“Together with the executive team, the board and the whole Matalan team, I look forward to taking the company into the future.”
His appointment follows a interval of “strong” efficiency for Matalan. In the six months to 30 August 2025, the enterprise reported a 69% enhance in pre-IFRS16 EBITDA, reaching £34 million.
This development was pushed by margin enlargement and tight value management, as the retailer continues to execute its strategic transformation – most notably, its ongoing retailer refresh programme. Upgraded shops are at present outperforming the remainder of the property by 14%.
Executive Chair Karl-Heinz Holland stated: “I’m completely delighted that Henrik is becoming a member of Matalan at this thrilling stage of our transformation.
“In Henrik, we’ve a person with important UK, attire retail expertise, coupled with confirmed CEO leadership expertise to proceed Matalan’s strategic supply.
“I have no doubt that he will add huge value across all areas of the business, complementing the experienced executive and leadership team.”
Nordvall’s appointment is the newest transfer in a broader strategic overhaul at Matalan, lately strengthened with a number of key hires to its senior leadership.
Jo Bennett joins as Director of Buying & Design, bringing experience from Tu Clothing and John Lewis, the place she led the womenswear and equipment division.
Meanwhile, Jon Williams takes on the newly created position of Director of Trading, Planning, and Merchandising, leveraging over 20 years of expertise at John Lewis, Tesco, and Primark.
Eilidh MacAskill steps in as Director of Marketing, bringing senior-stage expertise throughout style journalism and retail, together with tenures at Ocado, Asda, and Monsoon Accessorize.
Andreas Nicolaides was additionally named as Director of Digital, tasked with accelerating the corporate’s omnichannel technique.