Eoin Tonge, the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Irish textile discounter Primark, has been appointed to the post permanently. This confirms the media speculation from last week. The news was confirmed by the retailer’s parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF). According to ABF, Tonge will take on the role with immediate effect.
Before joining ABF in early 2023, Tonge was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Marks & Spencer. He also held a number of leadership positions at Greencore Group. He then became a director and later group finance director of ABF before taking up the role of interim CEO at Primark on 31 March 2025.
During this time, Tonge – who will continue to serve as a director on ABF’s board – began implementing a strategy to strengthen Primark’s customer promise, the group said. This includes the product offering, value perception as well as digital and market-oriented capabilities.
Customer promise remains a core priority
In a statement, ABF chief executive George Weston said: “Over the past year [Tonge] demonstrated the leadership, judgment and consumer understanding needed to enable Primark to capitalize on the significant opportunities that lie ahead. The changes he has implemented are still at an early stage, but are already showing noticeable benefits in a challenging environment.”
Tonge was appointed to head Primark last year after Paul Merchant resigned. Merchant was accused of inappropriate behavior toward women in a social setting. In taking on the position, Tonge faced a number of challenges. In particular, he had to navigate a difficult consumer environment, especially in Europe and the USA. There, consumer trust and customer frequency remain fragile.
These obstacles persisted into the second half of last year, but there are initial signs of slight improvement. For the 16-week period ending January 3, 2026, Primark reported a 2.7 percent decline in like-for-like sales. This was partly offset by a three per cent increase in sales in the UK, which remains a key growth driver for the retailer.
US sales increased by twelve percent thanks to the continued opening of new branches. European sales, however, fell 5.7 percent as performance initiatives were only recently introduced.
In his own commentary, Tonge said his priorities were to “strengthen Primark’s core customer promise of disruptive price leadership, improve our digital engagement, pursue international growth and drive greater operational effectiveness and efficiency”. “I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead,” he added.
Primark creates new role of Chief Commercial Officer
Tonge will be joined by Filip Ekvall, who has been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer at Primark. By creating this position, Primark aims to bring its product, retail, digital and customer functions under one roof. This is another measure to strengthen the customer promise.
Ekvall brings 20 years of international apparel retail experience to the role. He gained much of this at H&M Group, where he previously held management positions in Europe, South Korea and the United Kingdom. Since January 2025, Ekvall has been chief executive of Brav, an outdoor retailer.
Meanwhile, at ABF, Joana Edwards will take on the role of Group Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. Similar to Tonge, Edwards has served in the role on an interim basis since March 2025, having previously held the position of Group Financial Controller. Prior to ABF, Edwards was Group Financial Controller at L’Oréal.
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