Travis Perkins appoints COO for trade merchant business
Travis Perkins, the owner of DIY retailer Wickes, has appointed Frank Elkins as chief operating officer for its trade merchant business.
The business includes BSS, Benchmarx, Keyline and CCF and has a combined network of more than 1,000 outlets across the UK.
With Elkins reporting to Travis Perkins chief executive John Carter, the appointment is part of plans to remove the company’s divisional structure to reduce complexity, speed up decision making and reduce costs.
Having joined BSS Group in 2003, Elkins rose from the position of commercial director to managing director for BSS Industrial in 2005 and became a board director in 2009. Travis Perkins acquired the BSS Group in 2010 and in 2013 Elkins was promoted to the role of divisional chief executive, and held the role until his current appointment.
Carter said: “Frank has been instrumental in laying the foundations for our new structure, and has a clear vision, the energy and commitment to developing our trade merchanting organisation. He has he been in merchanting for over 30 years, eight of these with us. As divisional chief executive for our contract merchanting division, when he was responsible for the leadership and strategy development of our Keyline, BSS and CCF businesses, he succeeded in growing sales and profits by nearly 50% over a five-year period. This is a fantastic track record.”
