Nisa Retail appoints Arnu Misra as interim CEO

Nisa Retail has appointed Arnu Misra as interim CEO. An independent non-executive director at Nisa since November 2016, Misra takes over from Nick Read, who recently announced his departure from the business.

Misra’s retail experience includes senior executive roles at Matalan, Asda, and Loblaw’s in Canada. He also spent six years as CEO of private equity backed Cannons Health, doubling its membership base before selling to Nuffield Health.

News of Misra’s appointment follows positive half-year results for Nisa, with total sales up by 12.4% to £728 million in the 26 weeks to 1 October 2017 compared to the same period last year.

Non-tobacco sales increased by 0.8% on a like-for-like basis to £505 million, while tobacco sales were down by 2.7%. Core retail trade showed like-for-like growth of 1.9%.

Nisa reported that sales were driven by strong growth in new stores and new member recruitment, with 409 new stores in the half year, compared to 188 last year. The latest figure includes 210 from the continued McColls Retail Group roll-out.

Nisa chairman Peter Hartley commented: “We have continued to serve our existing members well, and as a result new member recruitment has shown significant gains. We are delighted to have Arnu as interim CEO; he has a wealth of retail experience and is ideally placed to lead Nisa as we seek to optimise the service, benefits and opportunities we can bring our members.”

Misra added: “I am pleased to be leading Nisa at a time of great change for the convenience sector as top-up shopping continues to increase. I have spent many years working in the retail industry and am looking forward to drawing on this experience to provide Nisa members with an exceptional value proposition that delivers for their customers. I am pleased to see strong new member recruitment in our H1 numbers and look forward to a busy final quarter, as the important festive trading seasons draws near.”

Tel: Nisa Retail (01724) 282028