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Marks & Spencer shocked the City and the retail industry today when it appointed the boss of Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket as its new chief executive.
Marc Bolland, a Dutchman and former boss of lager maker Heineken, is credited with transforming Morrisons from a sleepy also-ran in the grocery sector into a serious competitor to the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury.
He will succeed Sir Stuart Rose at the helm of the most influential retailer in Britain, a company often regarded as the soul of Middle Britain, which accounts for 10% of all clothing sales in the country.
In making the appointment, Marks bypasses three internal candidates for the role: finance director John Dyson, clothing boss Kate Bostock and director of food John Dixon.
Analysts say the M&S board, despite making a show of giving all three a chance to show their worth, decided that none was suitable.
City investors say Dyson was too much of a pure numbers man, Bostock lacked wide enough retail experience and that Dixon, a rising star, was simply too young.
Bolland had been mentioned as a possible successor several times but always insisted he was not interested, saying: “I am very happy at Morrisons.”
Rose will stay on as part-time chairman once Bolland takes over in the New Year. He will leave M&S “by July 2011”, in reality probably well before then.
The details of Bolland's pay are yet to be confirmed, but he can expect a package that makes him one of the best-paid chief executives in the UK.
He is likely to be strongly incentivised to improve the M&S share price.
As the news broke M&S stock lifted sharply. By early afternoon it was up xxp to xxp.
Bolland only arrived at Morrisons in September 2006, quickly revamping its offering by focusing on fresh food. He said: “M&S is one of the world's great brands and I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead the company forward at this exciting stage.”
He will start just as VAT, cut to aid the road out of recession, goes back up, potentially hurting sales.
Rose said: “I am delighted that Marc is to be M&S's next chief executive. He brings a wealth of consumer marketing experience and had made a great success of his time at Morrisons.”
News of Bolland's departure met with huge disappointment from Morrisons' shareholders. He had been originally appointed after a long-running succession crisis in which founder Sir Ken Morrison was seen as meddling too much in the process. He has been hailed as a hero at the group, which was struggling with its bungled takeover of Safeway in 2004 when he arrived.
Shares in the supermarkets chain tumbled 12.7p to 282.8p, more than 4%, amid concerns about another lengthy search.
Reader views (3)
Sir Stuart seems to have turned into Stephen Fry he's everywhere ! About time they got in a man who is steady
- Roland Butter, London, 19/11/2009 09:02
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Well done M&S for choosing MB as next CEO. He has certainly done an excellent job at Morrisons as far as I can see. Hopefully, he will have the foresite to bring M&S back to its traditional self. I hope he realises that he doesn't have to compete with the likes of the trashy throw away clothes of Primark and bring back clothes of quality competitive with the likes of John Lewis etc. I hope his own excellent standard of dress code inspires him and his buying team within the store. Bring back the quality basics and closet favorites that M&S was famous for and he will win his public back.
- Ashley Smithson, st albans, 18/11/2009 14:52
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how on earth could Morrisons allow this to happen? Sir Ken was a pioneering entrepreeur who built a sound company from almost nothing. Yes, he went at the right time in order to give new, much needed, impetus to an operation which became too big too quickly for his undoubted former skills to handle. Marc Bolland was a real breath of fresh air with consumate business skills. How could the Morrison,s board with its preponderance of family shareholders allow him to escape when the task he was set is far from over? Was it too much board interference, or just short-sightedness? His salary was quite derisory in comparative terms considering the task he undertook and delivered on. However, as I said earlier, it was far from complete. It would pay Morrisons to compensate M & S, and give Bolland an offer he couldn't refuse in order to retain him. Otherwise, the whole management structure at Morrisons seems like a joke!!!
- Briang, Wigan UK, 18/11/2009 14:24
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