Hilco seeks to elevate retail consulting biz

Hilco Trading wants to build the next great retail consulting business and consistent with that goal it has hired Antony Karabus to serve as president of Hilco’s retail consulting arm and elevated current CEO Greg Rubin to the role of chairman.

Karabus will serve as president of Hilco’s SD Retail Consulting practice – known as Senn-Delaney Consulting until a 2006 name change – and is expected to bring a new strategic perspective to a consulting business heretofore best known for operational expertise. Plans call for SD Retail and Hilco to leverage their network of retail clients and financial capital to deliver innovative solutions and meet the challenges of a changing retail landscape. Initially, SD Retail will focus on retail clients operating primarily in the US and European markets, but over time the consulting practice plans to leverage the global reach of Hilco which employs more than 500 people on five continents.

Karabus founded Karabus Management in 1990 to serve retailers in Canada and in 1991 the firm expanded to the U.S. The company grew to more than 50 employees and in late 2008 was acquired by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Karabus stayed on until 2011.

"We’re thrilled to have Antony Karabus join the Hilco Organization.　He has built a reputation for helping retailers strengthen their performance and achieve profitable growth," said Jeffrey B. Hecktman, chairman and CEO of Hilco. "Antony’s deep understanding of strategy, merchandising and working capital improvement combined with his exceptional industry relationships with the top retailers worldwide makes him the ideal choice to take our current consulting business to the next level."

With the addition of Karabus, Greg Rubin, previously CEO of SD Retail Consulting was elevated to the role of chairman and will remain involved in client development and service for the practice.

According to the firm, one of the key differentiating factors of its retail practice is the ability to access Hilco’s network of complementary firms, including Hilco Real Estate, Hilco Merchant Resources, Hilco Streambank, Hilco Brands and Hilco Corporate.

Headquartered in Northbrook, Ill., Hilco is a privately-held, diversified financial and operational services firm focused on understanding and maximizing the value of business assets, including retail, consumer and industrial inventory, machinery and equipment, real estate, accounts receivable, intellectual property and going-concern enterprises.