Harding+ Strengthens Senior Management with Appointment of New CFO

Luscombe brings a wealth of retail finance experience to the role, having spent the last eight years at Homebase as Finance Director and CFO. Before that, he held senior finance and Trading Director positions during his nine-year career at high street fashion retailer Hobbs.

In his new role, Simon will use his expertise to enhance financial performance and help drive Harding+’s strategic growth objectives.

“Simon brings a wealth of expertise in leading financial strategy across multi-site retail operations,” said Harding+ CEO Chris Matthews.

“His sharp focus on efficiency, innovation, and change management in a fast-evolving sector aligns perfectly with our mission to simplify complexity for our business and partners – while driving sustained, profitable growth.”

Added Luscombe: “This is an exciting moment to step into a dynamic industry and join a business built on a strong foundation of success and operational excellence".

“Harding+ stands out with its guest-centric retail model and long-term, collaborative partnerships that drive future growth. I look forward to bringing to the cruise some of the insights from my 20 years in bricks and mortar retail,” he added.

Luscombe succeeds Bill Showalter, who is stepping down after 18 months of playing a pivotal role in the company’s recent customer transformation initiative.

“Bill has been an outstanding leader of our finance function and a trusted voice on the operating board, providing invaluable guidance and support,” said Matthews.

“He steps down having successfully delivered on all that was asked of him, and on the back of what has been a successful year. As we enter the next stage of our journey, Simon’s deep retail expertise will bring fresh perspectives to drive our continued growth.”

With Matthews as CEO and Luscombe as CFO, the Harding+ executive leadership team now includes Mark Birnie as the long-serving Chief Operating Officer, Linzi Walker as Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Powell as Chief People Officer, and Mikos Taylor as Chief Technology Officer.

“This is a team that is fuelled by brilliant retail experience from multiple sectors, with shared ambitions for where we are heading, and strong teams at every level,” said Matthews.

“Which means we can continue to bring positive disruption to the sector as the only 100% cruise retail specialist, and keep innovation, customer centric thinking and the spirit of constant improvement front and centre at all times.”