There is a link between how successful retailers are and who their IT chiefs report to, according to research published by Retail Systems Research.

It has found that retailers with the best like-for-like sales performances are much more likely to have chief information officers or IT directors that report to the chief exec; rather than into other roles such as chief finance officer, chief operating officer or the company president.

It decided to conduct the study after looking at the issues facing retailers trying to effectively deliver business applications; and found that the main challenge is not a technology one, but rather to give an IT executive committee the power to align IT priorities with business strategy.

The question this raises is which way does this link work – does being a successful retail business mean that you are more likely to have direct reporting lines for IT, or do the direct reporting lines have an impact on how successful the business is?

The answer is probably a bit of both.

What is clear is that changes the industry has had to face – such as the rising relative power of the shopper – means that the IT department’s position within the business has evolved.  As the RSR report so delicately puts it: ‘The IT department, traditionally the ugly stepchild of many retail operations, is right at the heart of the matter.’

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