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Summary
- ASX 200 Supermarket Giant Woolworths announced leadership changes on 8 September to support its development into Food and Everyday Needs divisions highlighted during FY2020 Result announcement.
- Claire Peters, the Managing Director of Woolworths, would take up the role of Managing Director of B2B and Everyday Needs.
- Natalie Davis, the existing Managing Director of Woolworths New Zealand, would assume the position of Managing Director of Woolworths Supermarkets.
- Colin Storrie, the current Managing Director (Group Portfolio), will assume the new role of MD of New Business and Partnerships.
- Also, The Group announced today that Ms Maxine Brenner would join as a Non-Executive Director starting from 1 December 2020.
ASX 200 listed Woolworths Group Limited (ASX:WOW) is amongst the leading retail groups in Australia and New Zealand. The Group supports popular brands such as Woolworths, Big W, BWS, Dan Murphy's and Countdown.
The Group announced today that Ms Maxine Brenner would join as a Non-Executive Director and be a member of the Board effective from 1 December 2020. Maxine current serves as a Non-Executive Director of Qantas, Origin Energy, and Orica.
On 8 September 2020, Woolworths Group announced some critical changes in its leadership to support the evolution into a Food and Everyday Needs Ecosystem.
- Claire Peter, who presently holds the position of the Managing Director in Woolworths Supermarkets would now be taking up the new role of Managing Director of B2B and Everyday Needs. She would be responsible for Woolworths Group's portfolio businesses which include BIG W, Woolworths International, Wholesale and Property. Besides, she would be taking up the stewardship of the Group's new partnership with PFD Food Services and join the Investment Committee of venture capital arm, W23. In the last three years, Claire has played a vital role in transforming Woolworths Supermarkets. Under her leadership, there was a significant increase in customer and brand metrics. She also implemented a new store operating model to serve altering customer requirements better. In the new role, Ms Peter would utilise her expertise in the food and non-food retail environment to lead to essential growth adjacencies.
- Natalie Davis, who is the present the Managing Director of Woolworths New Zealand, would take the position of Managing Director of Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia. In the last two years, Natalie led the growth of Woolworths New Zealand. Natalie worked to improve across customer, brand, and reputation metrics. She was also involved in the faster development of Countdown X, particularly in eCommerce. In the new role, Natalie will work together with the Food Leadership team to continue to change the Australian Food Business.
- In the coming weeks, the Company would announce the appointment of a new Managing Director of Woolworths New Zealand. Meanwhile, Sally Copland, who presently holds the position of General Manager Digital for Woolworths New Zealand, will play the role of Acting Managing Director.
- Colin Storrie, Managing Director (Group Portfolio), will assume the role of MD (New Business and Partnerships). Colin, in the early parts of 2020, was playing the role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer elect of Endeavour Group. Colin has played a role behind the scenes on many strategic initiatives to build the business. In the new role, Colin would lead the mergers and acquisition teams as the Company focus on critical strategic initiatives.
Retirement of Non-executive Director Jillian Broadbent AC:
On 27 August 2020, the Company announced that Jillian Broadbent AC would retire from her position at the end of the 2020 Annual General Meeting. Jillian Broadbent has served the Company for more than nine years as a Non-executive Director.
The Board is in the process to look for a suitable match to succeed Ms Broadbent.
Woolworths Group FY2020 priorities:
In the FY2020 results announced by the Company on 27 August 2020, WOW discussed its key priorities during FY2020, including:
- Build connected capabilities for the future.
- Create differentiation across its businesses.
- Lean operating model leveraging core platforms
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A Glance at FY2020 Result:
- Group sales improved by 8.1% to A$63.675 billion.
- Online sales grew up by 41.8% to A$3.523 billion.
- Group EBIT declined slightly by 0.4% to A$3,219 million.
- Group NPAT slipped by 1.2% to A$1,602 million.
- WOW declared a dividend of 94 cents, down 7.8% on pcp.
Woolworths Group Food and Everyday Needs Ecosystem:
FY2021 Present Trading and Outlook:
For eight weeks to 23 August 2020, the Company's trading remained robust amid the COVID-19 environment. Despite the highly uncertain outlook for the remaining part of 2020, the business remains resilient and further progress on strategic priorities expected. In places like Victoria, 22 BIG W's has been closed due to the rise in the COVID-19 cases. However, the business is operational via Pick up, Drive up and Home Delivery.
FY2021 current trading remains high and volatile, with some softening over the period.
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Stock Performance:
Woolworths share price stood at A$36.550 on 10 September 2020 (at 02:22 PM AEST), down by 0.706%. WOW has a market cap of A$46.49 billion and 1.26 billion outstanding shares.
