Rodney Duke

Mr Duke has spent all his working life in the retail sector. After leaving school in Adelaide, he commenced work with retailers in South Australia before moving to Waltons in Sydney in 1980. From 1981 to 1988 he held the positions of NSW Manager of Homecraft / Eric Anderson Stores, a senior merchandise executive for Grace Brothers then MD of Norman Ross. In September 1988, Rod was appointed MD of Briscoes (NZ), at that time a subsidiary of Hagemeyer of the Netherlands, with a mandate of returning the company to profitability and preparing it for sale. In 1996 Rod established, and in subsequent years expanded, the Rebel Sport chain of sporting goods stores in NZ as a business within the Briscoe Group.