Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> September 1, 2003
DARREN D. GILLESPIE, Senior Executive Vice President and co-CEO of
Liquidation World Inc., joined Liquidation World in 1993 after 10 years
with a national consumer electronics chain. The early 1980s was a time
of explosive, unprecedented growth in the electronics industry which
provided him with an exciting opportunity to grow the business from
three stores in Alberta to 60 stores nationally, with sales in excess of
$125 million in less than five years. It was an education process like
no other, involving rapid store growth, hyper aggressive marketing
initiatives, learning about regional differences, demographics and, all
the while, cultivating and growing a highly motivated professional sales
force. Mr. Gillespie spent his first six years with Liquidation World
expanding the number of outlets in the Pacific Northwest and instituting
an aggressive marketing program to develop the branding of Liquidation
World. The company opened nearly 40 outlets in six years with about half
of those being in the United States. Over the past 10 years he has held
a number of senior positions with Liquidation World. He has been Vice
President of Sales and Marketing, Senior Executive Vice President and he
is now Senior Executive Vice President and co-CEO. He has successfully
completed a number of executive training programs including, most
recently, the Executive training program at the Richard Ivey School of
Business at the University of Western Ontario. Profile
Liquidation World?
Mr. Gillespie: Liquidation World was founded in 1986 in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. Today, we supply a variety of
