The chocolatier Thorntons has turned to the former boss of Arsenal football club to turn around its fortunes after posting a loss over its most important trading period of the year.
Keith Edelman, who was the managing director of Arsenal between 2000 and 2009, joins the board next week as a non-executive.
He is currently the chairman at Beale, the struggling retailer, and has also held senior roles at Storehouse, Ladbrokes, Carlton Communications and Grand Metropolitan.
Chairman John von Spreckelsen said: "Keith brings with him a wealth of experience from across a wide range of consumer markets."
Thorntons made a loss of £618,000 for the 28 weeks to January 7, which included the crucial Christmas trading period, compared with a profit of £8.3m the previous year.
This was largely due to falling margins and sales, as well as charges of £2.45m related to non-cash property-related writedowns. Total sales slipped to £130m from £133.5m.
The group is trying to turn around its performance by improving its product range, expanding its commercial division and exiting up to 180 under-performing stores.
Chief executive Jonathan Hart said: "We have good prospects in our commercial channel for Easter, with a strong order book."
