Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson is never one to shy away from a challenge. Credited with getting Focus DIY into shape to enable a sale to Cerberus for £1 in 2007, the next year he took on one of the toughest jobs in retail – the turnaround of Woolworths – but unfortunately he arrived too late to save the variety store chain.

In his first high-profile UK role since the demise of Woolies, Johnson last week joined beds market leader Dreams as chairman in what is a challenging time for the big-ticket sector.

Johnson, a former Bain & Company management consultant, hails from the Archie Norman school of retailing at Asda, where he held a number of roles, culminating in marketing director.

What did Norman see in Johnson in the early days? “The same qualities I see in him now,” says Norman. “He’s very bright. He’s got intellectual objectivity and has a good critical eye.”

Furthermore, says Norman, he is someone you can rely on in a crisis. “Steve Johnson is somebody who people trust. You can lean on him, he’s unflappable,” says Norman.

“If there’s anybody who’s going to be unfazed by a crisis it’s Steve. When others around him are panicking, he’s standing tall on the bridge,” says Norman, who still socialises with Yorkshireman Johnson.

Such a composed nature will have helped him in his roles at Focus and Woolworths.

At Focus, he is credited with renewing store formats and overhauling the supply chain to turn around the ailing retailer, enabling the sale to Cerberus. As part of the deal, Cerberus agreed to pay off Focus’s £174m debt pile.

At Woolies, Johnson was unsuccessful, but he was only parachuted in amid its death throes.

One source who has worked with Johnson says that in his short time leading Woolworths, he “exhausted every possibility” to try to save the business.

“He tried everything,” says the source. But the company was in such dire straits that the inevitable happened, resulting in one the biggest collapses in British business history, and certainly of the high street.

Throughout the challenging few months, and particularly at the very end, the Yorkshireman “acted with great tact and dignity in very tough circumstances”, says the source. “I was really impressed with the way he led the organisation through the last months.”

The likeable and good natured Johnson – who has also worked at GUS, the former owner of Argos and Homebase – is not just a steady pair of hands, though. At Asda he worked in commercial, marketing, and investor relations. “He’s no one-trick pony,” says Norman.

The source who has worked with him found him “very impressive and very determined. He’s a great big tall guy with this quiet voice but he makes a real impact.

“At Woolworths he knew what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it and just pursued it.

“The Woolworths job was long hours. He’s got lots of energy. He’s got quite a plodding Yorkshire accent but he’s far more energised in person.”

And he seems energised at the prospect of being Dreams chairman. Johnson says that, while the business is the clear market leader with a “good base to build the business from”, he wants to inject a new way of thinking to enable the business to do things “a bit differently”.

He says: “It’s important to differentiate yourself, otherwise it’s just more of the same.” Characteristically optimistic, he describes the tough big-ticket environment as an “opportunity”.

Norman says Johnson will give Dreams “a good strategic oversight”.

Outside work, Norman describes Johnson as having a “good sense of humour, he can be laid back. He’s good fun to be around”. But he adds: “He can also get things done.”

The source who wishes to remain anonymous describes him as “quite intense. He’s a real human being. He just gets on with it”.

It sounds as if Johnson possesses the right sort of can-do attitude to tackle the tough big-ticket sector.