Former Steinhoff UK boss Ian Topping has a tough job on his hands if he is to make HMV sing again. Retail Week takes a look at his credentials.

Topping, who has been parachuted into HMV to lead its turnaround, is more familiar with sofas than CDs after 20 years spent in the furniture business.

The 52-year-old joined South African furniture group Steinhoff ‘s UK division, which operates fascias including Bensons for Beds and Harveys, in 2001 when it bought beds manufacturing firm Relyon Group of which he was chief executive from 1993.

While Topping’s lack of experience in the entertainment sector may raise a few eyebrows, he is no stranger to turnarounds. When Steinhoff bought retail business Homestyle it needed restructuring and, according to Topping, had “fat overheads, a bad warehouse and distribution platform and poor customer service”.

And much like HMV, Homestyle had to undergo this revival in a tough environment, that saw competitors within the sector Land of Leather and ScS hitting the buffers.

Topping had some tough decisions to make during Steinhoff UK’s transformation. He reduced trading space and headcount alongside moving away from the competitive sofa market to focus on higher margin products with broader appeal.

He has already thrown his weight behind a similar regrouping at HMV, revealing he intends to ditch the technology element of the business - that its previous management team had identified as essential to its revival - to go back to its musical roots.

“We intend to reverse the earlier decisions to sell tablets and other devices in the stores and to reclaim the space for an enhanced music and visual range,” Topping said in a statement this morning.

Helping Topping in his task is Hilco investment director Henry Foster. Foster, who has been with the Hilco for over five years, is a chartered accountant by trade and previously worked at  restructuring firm Kroll, which later rebranded to Zolfo Cooper.

Topping has an impressive academic background, with an MA in Engineering Science and Economics from Oxford University and an MBA from Manchester Business School.  He spent his early career working in the oil industry and within management consultancy.

Outside of work Topping is a keen cyclist and three years ago trekked from Harveys UK head office in Thurrock, Essex to its European head office in Westerstede, Germany alongside Steinhoff founder Bruno Steinhoff.

And that kind of stamina will come in useful if he is to get HMV on the right track.

Topics