This week brought news that Kevin Keaney is to step down as chief executive of The Works to be succeeded by chief financial officer Gavin Peck.

In the context of a cut-throat market, results during the festive period were hardly a disaster for Keaney. Many retailers would have been ecstatic with like-for-like sales growth of 1.5%, but taken over a longer period it’s clear to see why it was felt a change was needed.