Investors are calling on Woolworths to give customers reasons to shop there again, as Australia's number one supermarket chain surprises investors with news it has appointed a Tesco veteran from the UK as its managing director of supermarkets.
In a long-awaited appointment, Claire Peters, who started as a graduate at Tesco and currently serves as its chief operating officer in Thailand, will step into the key role in July.
Ms Peters is the first woman to hold the role of managing director, Woolworths Supermarkets, and will report to Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci.
Mr Banducci has held the supermarkets boss role since the former Woolworths director of supermarkets and petrol, Tjeerd Jegen, left Woolworths almost two years ago.
Mr Banducci would "continue to play an active leadership role in the Woolworths Supermarkets, Digital, Metro and New Zealand Supermarkets businesses," the company said.
Ms Peters said in a statement: "Successful retailers put their customers first and I look forward to continuing to drive Woolworths' existing customer-led strategy."
Mr Banducci said "cultural fit is critically important to us and Claire has the ability to work with our team to further develop our 'Customer 1st and Team 1st' strategy."
One high-profile investor said Woolworths needed to get customers interested in shopping there again.
Another fund manager said the appointment "makes sense if they keep [discount department store chain] Big W, less so if they don't as why would you need both a CEO and head of supermarkets if you only have supermarkets?"
"Plus, shipping in people from overseas has had mixed success for Woolies. Hopefully between now and July she'll be able to come to terms with some of the nuances in operating here rather than the UK or Thailand."
One analyst said the "most important thing is to make sure that Brad has the turnaround under way. If she can come and continue to execute, that will give him some breathing space."
Australia has some history of importing supermarket executives. Mr Banducci is South African, and Alex Holt, general manager: product quality, health and sustainability at Woolworths, joined from Tesco.
Meanwhile, Scottish-born Ian McLeod spent most of his early career with British supermarket chain Asda before turning around the performance of Australia's number two chain Coles. Mr McLeod was replaced in 2014 by British executive John Durkan.
Investors have compared Woolworths with Tesco. Tesco was once the most profitable retailer in Britain; Woolworths until recent years had the highest supermarket margins in the world.
But both were criticised as overpriced, understocked and understaffed, and came under pressure from German discounters.
However, Tesco's shares have risen about 27 per cent in the past year amid signs it is getting its act together. And Woolworths recently reported its first rise in same-store sales since 2015, leading Mr Banducci to say it had a "modicum of momentum".
Shares in Woolworths closed up 9¢ to $24.47.
15 comments
New User? Sign up