Hires

Allan Leighton, executive chair, Asda

Former Asda boss Allan Leighton returned to the supermarket this month as its executive chair to head up its recovery efforts.

Leighton succeeds Lord Rose, who will remain on the board “to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down”.

It’s not Leighton’s first time turning around the grocer after he, alongside current M&S chair Archie Norman, spearheaded Asda’s recovery in the late 1990s and helped orchestrate its sale to Walmart.

He told the supermarket’s employees earlier this month that he expects the turnaround efforts to take “three to five years” as he looks to “restore Asda’s DNA”, including making improvements to price and availability, and hiring a new CEO.

Jason Tarry, chair, John Lewis Partnership

Tesco veteran Jason Tarry joined the John Lewis Partnership to replace Dame Sharon White as chair in September.

Tarry, who spent more than 33 years at Britain’s largest grocer, stepped down as Tesco’s UK and Ireland chief executive in October last year.

He has been tasked with leading the “next phase of modernisation” at John Lewis as it looks to rebuild and turnaround the business after being hit hard during the pandemic with losses deepening to as much as £234m – something that’s he’s credited with doing at Tesco.

Peter Ruis, executive director, John Lewis

John Lewis veteran Peter Ruis returned to the department store as its executive director at the start of the year after a 10-year absence.

Ruis, who was the department store’s previous fashion boss, has made quite the mark during his first year as he brought back the retailer’s famous Never Knowingly Undersold price promise.

He’s also been busy rolling out new store fits and changes across the estate under a multi-million pound investment as part of his commitment to make John Lewis “even more special”.

Paula Nickolds, CEO, The White Company

Nickolds was announced as successor to longstanding CEO of the The White Company, Mary Homer, in January. The former John Lewis managing director joined the retailer from Sainsbury’s, where she had served as general merchandise commercial director.

Nickolds was described by The White Company’s founder Chrissie Rucker OBE as “a passionate, values-driven leader who brings with her a wealth of retail experience across lifestyle, home and fashion” who would helm The White Company in its “next phase of evolvement and growth”.

Dan Finley, CEO, Boohoo Group

Debenhams boss Dan Finley has certainly made a positive impression at Boohoo as he was promoted to the role of chief executive of the group last month.

Finley, who joined the retailer in 2022, has been busy transforming the former high street department store chain into a “stock-light, capital-light and highly profitable” online marketplace.

Boohoo bosses are hoping Finley can work his magic for the fashion etail group, which has been racking up steep losses in recent years. It revealed last month that its half-year losses had tripled to £147.3m in the six months to end of August.

Finley’s new role has not been entirely smooth sailing as the appointment further riled up disgruntled Boohoo shareholder Mike Ashley, who labelled the move as “desperate”. Ashley has since mounted an offense on Boohoo’s group management, and will attempt to install himself on Boohoo’s board in a shareholder vote at Boohoo’s general meeting later this month.

Anthony Hemmerdinger, UK and Ireland managing director, Boots

Boots promoted retail and operations director Anthony Hemmerdinger as its new CEO after Seb James resigned from the post.

Hemmerdinger, who has also worked at Asda, Sainsbury’s and M&S, is credited with spearheading Boots’ significant beauty re-fit and brand expansion programme across the company’s stores.

The retailer said he has been “instrumental” in the delivery of its enhanced healthcare and beauty services in-store.

Matthew Barnes, UK CEO, Tesco

Former Aldi boss Matthew Barnes headed over to Britain’s largest grocer in March to head up its UK businesses.

The new Tesco chief executive has held several senior positions at Aldi during his 27 years at the discounter, including its UK and Ireland CEO, before being promoted to Aldi Sud’s executive board where he was responsible for many of the supermarket’s international businesses and its global sourcing, buying and supply chain.

Julia Goddard, CEO, Harvey Nichols

New Harvey Nichols chief executive Julia Goddard joined the department store chain in July.

Goddard joined from Alexander McQueen, where she spent 13 years at the luxury brand, most recently as EMEA president.

The department store has lost its way in recent years and owners the Poon family will hope that Goddard’s track record of delivering quality growth and successfully developing and executing a Very Important Customer clienteling strategy will help to breath new life into the business.

Goddard has made a number of high profile appointments since joining, including appointing stylist and former Topshop director Kate Phelan to the newly created role of creative director and poaching YNAP buying director Kate Benson as chief merchant.

Joshua Schulman, CEO, Burberry

Burberry parachuted in ex-Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive in July to replace Jonathan Akeroyd, who stepped down “by mutual agreement with the board”.

The luxury fashion house is banking on Schulman’s history of driving transformative growth and value creation as CEO of global luxury, fashion, and retail businesses after it plunged to a loss of £41m in the six months to 28 September, down from the £223m profit it recorded the year before.

“Burberry’s original purpose to design clothing that protects people from the weather is more relevant than ever,” Schulman said last month when he unveiled his turnaround plan for the business.

“Our recent underperformance has stemmed from several factors, including inconsistent brand execution and a lack of focus on our core outerwear category and our core customer segments. Today, we are acting with urgency to course correct, stabilise the business and position Burberry for a return to sustainable, profitable growth.

Lysa Hardy, CEO, Hotel Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat promoted its UK managing director and group marketing officer Lysa Hardy to the position of CEO in September.

It came as co-founder Angus Thirlwell moved to the role of president after the brand agreed a takeover by confectionery giant Mars in November last year in a deal that valued it at £534m.

Hardy is credited with helping to double the size of the retailer’s UK business in five years, and created the Velvetiser Hot Chocolate category.

She was previously a non-executive at Superdry until July this year, and had held senior positions in Joules and Holland & Barrett.

Exits

Jo Whitfield, CEO, Matalan

Matalan kicked off its search for its next chief executive in October following Jo Whitfield’s abrupt departure.

Whitfield, who joined the fashion and home chain just over 18 months ago, stepped down to “pursue a portfolio career”.

Under her helm, the retailer said it made “significant progress” in its turnaround strategy including the reshuffling its top team and re-establishment of its “value credentials”.

Whitfield said: “We have reset the business foundations against a very challenging backdrop, have improved profitability in the first year and developed a strategy to take the business forward.

“Now feels the right time to pass the baton as the next phase of the transformation continues. I am confident that Matalan will continue to thrive and I wish my colleagues and leadership team every success for the future.”

The retailer’s chair Karl-Heinz Holland will act as executive chair until a successor is hired.

Mohsin Issa, Asda

Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa announced he was stepping back from his executive leadership role at the supermarket in September to focus on his chief executive position at forecourt giant EG Group.

Issa joined the grocer in 2020 after him and his brother, Zuber Issa, snapped up the business from Walmart in a £6.8bn deal.

His departure came a month after Asda’s then chair Lord Rose told The Telegraph that he was “embarrassed” by the business’ weak performance and believes that co-owner Mohsin Issa should step back from running the supermarket.

“We always said Mohsin was a particular horse for a particular course. He is a disrupter, an entrepreneur, he is an agitator,” Rose said.

“We’ve added a significant number of stores and we’ve changed a lot but it now needs a different animal. In the nicest possible way, Mohsin’s work is largely complete.”

Issa’s tenure at Asda has been highly scrutinised and the billionaire owner admitted to providing inaccurate information to MPs about the intricate offshore ownership structure known as ‘Bellis’ that they established for Asda when he was quizzed late last year.

Seb James, UK MD, Boots

Vocal Boots boss Seb James stepped back from the health and beauty chain in November after accepting a position as group CEO of Veonet, one of Europe’s largest chains of ophthalmology clinics.

James is credited with helping to reinvent the retailer’s beauty business, bringing in hundreds of new brands, re-fitting beauty halls across the UK and employing more specialist beauty advisers, as well as expanding its pharmacy practice to offer over 160 healthcare services for both private and NHS patients.

The former boss has spoken out about the challenges the NHS faces in the UK and previously admitted that his team plotted to make Sephora’s return to the UK a failure.

“Our whole team lent into the idea of making that [store] launch a disaster. As a result a whole flock of new customers came to Boots.

“We grew 85% in a year and the general message going around the store was ‘up yours Sephora’ and that felt very, very good,” he said.

James insisted his exit from Boots was not related to owner Walgreens’ decision to shelve its plans for a multibillion-pound sale of the UK business.

John Edgar, CEO, Fenwick

Fenwick announced in July that its chief executive John Edgar was stepping down and would be replaced by department store veteran Nigel Blow.

The retailer’s chair Sian Westerman said at the time: “John Edgar is stepping down as CEO as part of a reorganisation of our executive leadership team and wider changes to the management structure of the company.

“John has successfully steered the business through the Covid-19 pandemic, launched our online proposition, enhanced and expanded our restaurant business, focused on the development of key stores, including a masterplan project in Newcastle and significant improvements to the Kingston store.”

However, it was revealed in October that Blow, a former Harrods executive, would no longer be taking up the position after reports emerged of multiple sexual assault and rape allegations made against Harrods’ previous owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Blow quickly spoke out, stating that Fenwick had withdrawn its offer two weeks before he was meant to start following the news.

“Fenwick announced my appointment on 30 July. I was very excited to join Fenwick and take on the significant challenge of turning the business around to profitability after a run of poor, loss-making, results in recent years,” said Blow.

“Like many others, I watched the recent BBC documentary about [former Harrods owner Mohamed] Al Fayed’s behaviour with absolute horror. I do not know and have never met any of the women who bravely spoke about the grooming, sexual assaults, and rapes they endured.”

James Timpson, CEO, Timpson

Timpson boss James Timpson was named as the new minister for prisons, parole and probation this summer following Labour’s win in the general election.

Shortly after, the chief executive announced he was temporarily stepping back from the cobbler to focus on his new role.

He has employed more than 600 former prisoners across the retailer’s branches throughout the UK and previously served as chair of the Employers Forum for reducing re-offending until 2016. He was appointed as chair of the Prison Reform Trust later the same year.

Timpson’s father Sir John Timpson is working alongside Paresh Majithia, who became the business’ acting group managing director to oversee James’ responsibilities.

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Capstick is understood to have stepped down from her role as the brand’s chief marketing officer, Drapers reported.

She joined PrettyLittleThing in 2015 as its marketing manager, and has worked her way up as head of marketing, marketing director and eventually its CMO as of August 2023.

Prior to that, she spent three years at Missguided as a senior marketing executive and a year at LittleWoods Clearance.

Her departure comes after PLT founder Umar Kamani returned to the business in September, 17 months since he announced he was stepping down.

Kamani said his return “marks the beginning of a new chapter for the fashion giant” as he looks to “put customers at the forefront” of every business decision. He doesn’t have a specific job title but will be in charge of all operations.

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Downs will head up the sportswear brand’s commercial operations to help drive its “next chapter of expansion”.

He joins from Fanatics International, where he spent 15 years as head of commercial development and later as its first general manager.

Co-founder and co-chief executive Tom Beahon said: “We’re delighted to welcome Danny to the team at Castore and are excited for him to lead our commercial operations as we continue our development as the UK’s fastest growing retailer.

“Danny will play a crucial role in how Castore develops and we’re excited to have him here as a high-performing executive aligned with our pursuit to relentlessly improve.

“He brings a wealth of sporting and commercial knowledge from his time at Fanatics International and past legal career, as well as a passion for fan engagement.”

Downs added: “I’m very excited to be joining Castore as we continue to challenge the big players of the industry and am looking forward to supporting its growth trajectory.

“With record-breaking product launches in the last year and new partnerships to come, I look forward to driving the progression of the business development and team partnerships functions at Castore.”

Castore hired former JD Sports exec Peter Alecock to serve in its newly-created position of commercial director back in July.

He is tasked with managing the brand’s overall channel performance in retail, wholesale and ecommerce for both partnerships as well as its mainline divisions.

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Retail Week reports that Forsey, known for being Mike Ashley’s right-hand man, will take on the role of general manager for the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMEA) regions.

The role will see him based in Malaysia, with regular trips to the retail giant’s London office for two weeks every two months.

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Forsey, who began his career at Sports Direct as an 18-year-old Saturday worker, worked closely with Ashley for over three decades, eventually taking on the job of CEO.

He stepped down in 2016 amid controversy over zero-hour contracts and reports of warehouse staff being paid below minimum wage.

After leaving Sports Direct, Forsey took on consultancy work before joining Revolution Beauty as managing director, a position he held for three years until February 2023.

Frasers Group confirmed Forsey’s return but declined to comment further.

The move comes as the Sports Direct owner cut its profit outlook for the year to a range of £550m to £600m as group sales fell 8% in the 26 weeks to 27 October.

Frasers’ pre-tax profit had dropped 33% to £207.2m during the period, down from £310.2m the year before, due to a decrease in foreign exchange and the material decline in the Hugo Boss share price. On an adjusted basis, it slipped 1.5% to £299.2m.

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Davies, who joined the business this week, has spent the last decade in the ecommerce giant’s supply chain department and was promoted to director of operations in 2021.

CDS said his appointment follows recent external leadership appointments in store operations, property and digital “to drive transformational plans and the businesses next phase of growth”.

CDS Superstores CEO Alex Simpkin said: “Sam has a strong background in supply chain innovation, and we look forward to deploying these skills as CDS continues to grow by developing our brands and customer proposition.”

Davies added: “CDS is one of the most exciting retailers operating at present with great plans for the future. I’m looking forward to helping the business to achieve its full potential.”

The Range owner expanded its portfolio once more last month when it snapped up Homebase out of administration. It acquired the DIY chain’s brand name, intellectual property, and up to 70 UK stores in a move that saved up to 1,600 jobs.

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As part of this restructure, the sofa giant’s DFS chief executive Nick Smith will step into the newly-created role of group chief customer and commercial officer, as he takes over leadership of Sofology alongside his existing responsibilities.

He will be supported by Arron Burton, who becomes group commercial director, James Brewer, new group marketing director, and Graham Mould, who will become group customer operations director.

DFS said these roles will join the already established group leaders of HR, IT, finance and distribution teams “to bolster a vastly experienced group operations leadership team”.

The reshuffle means that Dinnis, who joined the business in January 2022, will step down at the end of this month, along with Sofology’s director of customer operations Adam Smith and brand director Jan Duckworth.

The transition to the new leadership structure will complete taking on 1st January, 2025.

DFS group chief executive Tim Stacey said: “By bringing DFS and Sofology together under one management team we will create a more simplified structure, enabling us to focus on our strategic priorities, fully unlock group efficiencies, and create a stronger business for the future.

“I would like to thank Emma, Adam and Jan for their important contribution to making Sofology what it is today, and wish them all the best for the future.”

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Leighton helmed Asda from 1996 to 2001 and is credited with turning around the struggling chain, alongside current M&S chair Archie Norman – pulling the grocer from the brink of insolvency to orchestrating its bumper £6.7bn sale to Walmart in 1999.

However, Leighton certainly has his work cut out for him this time around, as the struggling supermarket continues to flounder.

He told The Guardian that he had committed to spending three to five years with the supermarket chain, acknowledging that “it is going to take us that long to get it right.”

Earlier this month, Asda’s market share tumbled further, dropping one percentage point from 13.5% to 12.5% as sales fell 5.5% in the 12 weeks to 3 November.

The grocery giant is also battling a host of issues including changes in ownership, setbacks from its IT transformation project Project Future, huge debt piles, job cuts, and its longstanding, and so far fruitless, search to for a new CEO.

Who is Allan Leighton?

Following his previous stint at Asda Leighton was chair of the Co-op from 2015 to 2024 – and has previously chaired the boards of Royal Mail and the Canal and River Trust. He is currently chair of Brewdog, Pizza Express and European fashion chain C&A.

Commenting on Leighton’s return to the supermarket giant, Grocery Insight CEO Steve Dresser notes: “I don’t think anyone could have foreseen it. But it makes perfect sense to everyone involved in the retail space.

“Everyone wondered whether his going plural work would ever see him return to the food retail space- the time now feels absolutely right.”

“Old skills and techniques still work”

His experience is undeniable – but it has been a long time since Leighton was at the forefront of Asda’s operations, and the retail veteran set to face a whole new host of challenges.

Despite this, Dresser points out: “Archie Norman has driven a turnaround at M&S so it’s obvious with that turnaround that the old skills and techniques still work in modern day retailing.

“The major challenges are things that he will be able to fix – morale, sense of purpose and belonging alongside an unclear value perception.

“Shops have lost their verve and reason for being. All of these things can be fixed quickly with leadership.”

Retail consultant Nick Bubb argues: “Allan’s great strength 25 years ago was in ‘rallying the troops’ at store level, and he will clearly be able to help in improving staff morale.

“But Asda’s problems go deeper than that and they still have a long way to go on improving store standards and range quality, as well as bedding in the new IT systems and convenience store business.”

Although the grocer has been busy making improvements for shoppers in recent months in efforts to revive sales, including boosting availability and enhancing customer experience, the chain still reported a drop in quarterly sales earlier this month.

It also warned of a £100m spike in its tax bill following changes announced in the government’s latest budget.

However, Berwick Partners partner head of consumer practice Simon Walton, believes Leighton can successfully turn around Asda again, noting he has also done the “same thing at the Co-op” more recently.

“I don’t think there’s any question that he can do it. He’s a very different person to Stuart [Rose], but the bigger issue here is that they still can’t hire a chief exec.

“It’s interesting they’ve had to bring in another executive chairman because they can’t solve the real problem.”

Dresser agrees that the supermarket’s search for a new chief exec remains its biggest priority.

“The next top priority is to assimilate the situation over Christmas and potentially have a plan post his first 90 days,” he adds.

Is Leighton the right fit for the job?

In terms of any weaknesses Leighton may have going into the role, Dresser says: “Everyone has blind spots but the team incoming are critical. Archie didn’t do it on his own [at M&S], nor can Allan.”

But Dresser believes Leighton’s return could trigger an appetite to aid in the turnaround mission from former Asda leaders.

“Good people will come in, even the old guard to restore it to glory, because they have a leader they can get on board with,” he says.

With Asda facing a difficult road ahead and rivals such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco “doing a really good job,” Walton argues that it is “a hell of a job” to turn the supermarket around.

Despite this, Shore Capital director Clive Black labelled Leighton’s return to Asda chair as “a smart move.”

“We’ll soon find out [if he can lead a successful turnaround]”, he notes, “it’s not an easy one, for sure, but he has a lot about him and supportive owners.”

Despite stellar credentials, Leighton certainly has his work cut out for him as he steps up to the helm once again.

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Lord Rose will remain on the board “to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down”, the retailer said in a statement.

He has served as chair since 2021, and took day-to-day responsibility for leading the grocer alongside Rob Hattrell, an executive at TDR, the private equity firm that owns a majority stake in the supermarket chain, after co-owner Mohsin Issa stepped down.

Leighton was Asda CEO from 1996 to 2001 and chaired the Co-op for almost a decade. He is credited with turning around Asda in the late 1990s along with current M&S chair Archie Norman, and orchestrating the retailer’s sale to Walmart.

“The potential for Asda now is significant, and my focus will be to work with the leadership team to help make Asda special for our colleagues and millions of customers,” Leighton said.

He added: “Stuart has done an important job in helping to create a retailer with a presence in every format and I am delighted to be returning to the business which has always been a special place for me.

Rose said: “It has been a privilege to work alongside the Asda team over the past three years and to support the business through this period of transition.

“Asda will benefit enormously from Allan’s experience of leading the business and on behalf of the board I am pleased to welcome him back. I look forward to continuing to support Asda as a shareholder and customer over the coming years.”

Earlier this month, the grocer reported a drop in quarterly sales and warned of a £100m spike in its tax bill following changes announced in the government’s latest budget.

The group, which was sold to the Issa brothers and TDR for £6.8bn in 2020 by Walmart, has been busy making improvements for customers in recent months in a bid to revive its poor sales. This includes boosting availability, enhancing the customer experience, and investing in value.

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The furniture retailer, which reported stronger trading in the final quarter of FY24, with year-on-year growth in order intake, has seen the positive trend persist.

In an update ahead of its annual general meeting today (22 November), DFS confirmed that order intake has remained in growth over the first 20 weeks of its current financial year, in line with expectations.

The business also highlighted its ongoing efforts to reduce costs, building on the progress made during FY24.

Despite the positive momentum, DFS posted a pre-tax loss of £1.7 m in its latest annual results, for the 53 weeks to 30 June 2024.

In a separate announcement, DFS confirmed that Marie Wall will join the company as interim chief financial officer on 2 December.

Wall, who will report to CEO Tim Stacey, has a wealth of financial leadership experience, having previously held senior roles at Wolseley, Dixons Carphone, and most recently as deputy CFO at Imperial Brands.

This follows an announcement back in October that John Fallon would be stepping down from the role on 22 November and will leave the business on 17 January.

Stacey said: “I am very pleased to welcome Marie to our group. She is a strong addition to our leadership team bringing with her a wealth of financial leadership experience, as we pursue our growth strategy.”

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The retail group wrote “a simple choice: win with Mike Ashley or lose with Mahmud Kamani” as it stepped up its boardroom battle with Boohoo.

It urged the fast fashion retailer’s shareholders to vote to appoint Ashley and restructuring expert Mike Lennon as directors of the company at its shareholder meeting on 20 December.

Frasers cited “the dismal results, lack of transparency, terrible refinancing, and further supply chain allegations” as reasons behind its call, and said “the chaos at Boohoo must end”.

It reiterated that these appointments and Kamani’s removal were “in the best interests of Boohoo, its shareholders and its stakeholders”.

The news comes after the fashion retailer snubbed Ashley’s request to be made CEO and hired Debenhams boss Dan Finley instead.

Frasers also responded to Boohoo’s claim that it was acting in “commercial self-interest”, and cited the legal opinion of Rohert O’Donoghue KC who said there was “no competition law issue, nor even a realistically arguable one”.

Meanwhile, Boohoo has appointed its non-executive director Tim Morris as its independent chair and has confirmed Kamani will become executive vice chair with immediate effect.

The board hs decided to divide the role to allow the company to have an independent chair while enabling Kamani to continue his day-to-day executive role.

Morris has been on the fashion retailer’s board since 2021 and was previously general counsel at TalkTalk and Carphone Warehouse. He said: “I am delighted to be appointed by the board as chair of Boohoo.

“My appointment follows a series of decisive steps taken by the board since launching its business review, including the completion of the refinancing, the appointment of Dan Finley as our new CEO and the successful fundraising.”

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