Mike Coupe is to retire from his role as Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s at the end of May. Having run the UK’s second largest supermarket chain for six years, he will be replaced by the group’s current Retail and Operations Director Simon Roberts.
Roberts joined Sainsbury’s in July 2017 in his current role which is responsible for stores, central operation and logistics. Before that he was Executive VP of Walgreens Boots Alliance and President of the Boots chain. Roberts had previously been Managing Director of Boots UK for two years. Earlier in his career, he spent 14 years at Marks & Spencer, where he had roles in stores and operations. He will start as Sainsbury’s new CEO from 1 June.
Coupe’s position has been under threat since the failed Asda deal last year and subsequent fall in the group’s share price. Sainsbury’s has also suffered from a prolonged period of underperformance. However, the company’s shareholders overwhelmingly backed his reappointment last year and the business is now implementing an updated strategy designed to drive growth. Recent third-quarter figures covering the Christmas period showed weak general merchandise demand had offset improvements in its grocery business.
Coupe will remain a director from 1 June until the company’s AGM on 2 July, at which point he will retire from the company. He said today: “This has been a very difficult decision for me personally. There is never a good time to move on, but as we and the industry continue to evolve, I believe now is the right time for me to hand over to my successor.
“Martin [Scicluna, Chairman] and I both believe the business is well set up, with a strong management team and a clear plan for the future. I am delighted that Simon will be the next Chief Executive and am confident that he is the right choice for our customers, our colleagues and our investors.”
Scicluna added: “Simon has been extremely effective during his three years at Sainsbury’s, leading our store teams through great change in that time. Simon is a dedicated, determined and enthusiastic champion of the customer and of our colleagues and has overseen sustained improvements in our competitiveness during his time so far.”
Sainsbury’s yesterday announced plans to cut hundreds of management jobs as it seeks to bring its main supermarket operation and Argos business closer together.
Roberts appointment means the UK’s two biggest supermarket groups will be run by former Boots executives. Ken Murphy, who is due to succeed Dave Lewis as CEO of Tesco in the summer, is a former joint Chief Operating Officer at Boots UK & Ireland.
NAM Implications:
- Inevitable, the only issue was when…
- Simon Roberts should be in a position to optimise his retail experience…
- …and hit the ground running.
- NAMs however should anticipate some change to signal the change…
- …but otherwise a continuation of the turnaround strategy.
