Profile: Richard Kirk, former Peacocks group chief executive

When Richard Kirk, group chief executive of value fashion retailer Peacocks, last week had to inform his head office staff that the business was bust after a failed attempt to save it, he called it one of the saddest days of his life.

A difficult announcement to make, some chief executives may have shied away from doing it in person. But according to one long-standing friend, it would have been unusual for Kirk not to deliver the devastating news personally.

“Every morning over the last week of negotiations Richard spoke to his people,” the friend said. “It would have been out of character for him if he hadn’t and he wouldn’t have wanted to report the news any other way. His aim at that time was to protect the people in the business.”

With 9,600 employees at Peacocks’ 550 eponymous stores, there were a lot of people to protect. Its administration was one of the largest retail collapses since Woolworths.

Despite the collapse, Kirk’s friend deems him a “brilliant retailer”, adding: “He is a hands-on manager, involved in every element of the business. He is also very approachable and people like him because of his motivational manner and his focus on inspiring people and cultivating the business.”

Kirk, who was brought up in Chesterfield, joined Peacocks in 1996 as chief executive. Previously, the 66-year-old was managing director of Iceland, where he helped expand the retailer from less than 100 stores to 400.

“He did a very good job at Iceland,” another source says.

To fit in with his new chief executive role at Peacocks, Kirk, who at the time was known as Dick, insisted on being called Richard. He was so married to his new name that he felt the need to reprimand one analyst that continued to call him Dick.

Kirk was given the opportunity to buy part of the business shortly after his appointment, and grabbed a 30% share. Some say Kirk saw this as a way to make his millions.

It has been said that he regularly flew by helicopter from his home in Cheshire to work at the Peacocks head office in Cardiff.  But, despite the new extravagant lifestyle, he was still jokingly known by some as ‘the man with the scruffy beard’. Apparently he took it on the chin, demonstrating his good sense of humour, says the unnamed source.

Kirk rapidly expanded Peacocks, transforming it from a tired traditional men’s garment retailer, which had been lagging behind for a while, to a women’s value fashion retailer.

Recognising there was a real market for value fashion, Kirk brought in new people and clothing lines and launched stores in secondary locations, where the retailer’s offering was well-suited. He also spearheaded the acquisition of Bonmarché in 2002, which has just sold via a pre-pack.

In many respects, Kirk made a success of the company. When he began working at Peacocks it made just £1m profit – in its last set of company accounts it reported £77m EBITDA. He led a float on the London Stock Exchange in 1999, netting himself £3.4m.

But as it collapsed under the weight of debt totalling £700m last week, observers have questioned Kirk’s decision to delist Peacocks from the London Stock Exchange in 2005, a move which made him £13m but saddled the business with a burden that would prove unbearable.

However, it is clear he fought tooth and nail to keep the chain alive, as a series of twists and turns that at times seemed to indicate a positive outcome. Kirk brought back a reluctant RBS to the table when it looked like he’d secured the backing of a ‘secret investor’, who turned out to be Kirk’s long-term investor friend Mark Rose from Monaco.

However, survival hopes were shattered. It is thought that an emotional Kirk has all but ruled out bidding again for Peacocks.

While Bonmarché has been bought by Sun European Partners, the future for Peacocks and Kirk himself remain uncertain. But with so much experience and passion for retail, he may be down but not out.