Shapland commenced his role on 18 January, taking over from Calver who spent three years as chairman and remains a non-executive director of the 400-staff company.

Shapland said: “I’ve admired Moo from afar for many years. Moo’s company values and ability to put the customer first has created an incredibly strong, well-loved global brand and a robust, rapidly growing business. If the past 10 years are anything to go by, this is a really exciting time to be joining the team.”

Shapland holds three other chairmanships, with Topps Tiles, Maplin Electronics and Not On The High Street. He is also non-executive director and chairman of the Wolseley audit committee and was previously chairman of Poundland before it was sold in September 2016.

In his executive career, he spent six years as a Sainsbury’s executive director and following this held the role of Carpetright chief executive until 2013.

Moo chief executive Richard Moross said: “Darren joins Moo at an exciting moment in our history. On the back of 40 consecutive quarters of growth, 2016 was yet another record year, with revenues of £75m, up 37% from the year before.

“The business has extremely ambitious plans for its future and Darren’s considerable experience will help us plot this course with great confidence.”