Footwear retailer Clarks is on the hunt for new leadership as its chief executive and finance boss have left with “immediate effect”, Retail Week can reveal.
- Clarks chief exec and chief financial officer exit with “immediate effect”
- Retailer says “new leadership” will help overcome “challenges ahead”
- Non-exec chairman Thomas O’Neill steps up to chairman role
Melissa Potter, a Clarks’ lifer who took the top job in 2010, and Robin Beacham have both stepped down, the retailer said today.
Potter joined Clarks as a graduate trainee in 1988.
No official reason was given for their departure. However, in a statement the privately-owned retailer and shoe maker, which operates more than 1,000 stores worldwide, said it had seen a “highly demanding commercial and economic environment, with increasing competition and intensified customer expectations” in recent years.
In its last full-year Clarks reported a 3.2% drop in group sales, while pre-tax profits edged up 1.4%. At the time Potter blamed discounting by rivals and Black Friday for sucking demand out of the market ahead of Christmas.
Clarks added today: “The board believes that new leadership will help us to meet and overcome the challenges ahead.”
Clarks said a search for a new chief executive is already underway to see it through its “next phase of growth”.
The group’s non-executive chairman, Thomas O’Neill, has been installed to lead the retailer in the interim.
Mike Coley, group financial controller, has stepped up to the chief financial officer role on an interim basis.
O’Neill said: “I know I speak for the whole management team and the board when I express my gratitude to Melissa and Robin for their contribution to Clarks over the years.
“Melissa and Robin have helped to navigate Clarks through significant changes in the sector and turbulent market conditions across the globe. We wish them every success in their future ventures and endeavours.”
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