ITALTILE will be led by Nick Booth from July 2014, the ceramics retailer said on Thursday.

Mr Booth, who is CEO of Ceramic Industries, will take the helm from Italtile’s acting CEO, founder and chairman Giovanni Ravazzotti, who stepped in after the death of his son, Gianpaolo Ravazzotti, in an aircraft crash en route to Plettenberg Bay in February 2011. Eight other Italtile employees and business partners were also killed in the crash.

Mr Booth has been CEO of sanitaryware and tile manufacturer Ceramic Industries since 2001. Italtile invested R529m to acquire a 20% stake in Ceramic Industries, which delisted late in 2012. The company is one of Italtile’s key suppliers of tiles‚ sanitaryware and baths.

Imara SP Reid According equity research analyst Sibonginkosi Nyanga said the announcement was a positive move as the company had not had a "substantive" CEO for some time.

"These guys might make decisions that take the company forward, but you never know, the market might not like the fact that Mr Ravazzotti is moving from being acting CEO," he said. Mr Booth holds a national diploma in heavy clay technology and a national management diploma.

"Giovanni Ravazzotti will serve as CEO until Mr Booth’s effective appointment date, whereafter he will resume his position as chairman," Italtile said.

In February the company, whose brands include CTM, TopT and Italtile Retail, reported a 13.6% increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 24.2c for the six months ended December.

Constrained consumer spending has affected both the broader construction segment and retailers in the building material and renovations market.

The company noted that economic uncertainty, lack of job security, high levels of unemployment and indebtedness, and tighter lending criteria in the unsecured lending market also fostered the spending slowdown evidenced by markedly reduced footfall in certain of its regions.

Mr Nyanga said: "If you look at the numbers already out in the industry, Cashbuild in particular, it seems as if the sector has been having some problems with the economic slowdown … maybe people aren’t renovating as much.

"There are indications, though, that growth in construction activity accelerated in the second quarter of 2013 and we will have a clearer picture when the numbers come through."