As big retailers struggle to entice customers through their doors it seems the pressure has led to a rise in chief executives going the other way.
Korn Ferry, a headhunter and consultant, said that there were 50 changes of chief executive last year, up from 41 in 2016 and the most since 2012, when the figure was 56.
It said that the main drivers were rising costs because of the fall in the value of the pound, increasing inflation squeezing margins as well as the disruption from the shift to online trading.
Half of the bosses had been in their post for four years or less. “In some cases this was considerably shorter, with Gerry Gray, the previous chief executive, of Poundworld, leaving his post after less than two years at the helm, and John Colley, of Hobbycraft, resigning after two months,” Korn Ferry said.
Other retailers that had a change at the top include Asda, Topshop and New Look. Sarah Lim, Korn Ferry’s managing director for retail in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said that “chopping and changing” affected performance and “short tenures create instability and are not long enough to embed a sustainable transformation plan”.
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“Retailers are going through major transition, reducing stores, developing mobile, online and other channels to market, while fighting pure-play online competitors with lower overheads,” she said. “Successful turnaround takes time, and coupled with the economic and political instability triggered by Brexit, it’s unsurprising that many retailers are struggling with profitability.”
The January results season has underlined the popularity of online shops and the struggle for chains with expensive and ageing stores. A number of major chains also suffered lacklustre festive trading including Debenhams, Mothercare and Moss Bros.
This year is unlikely to offer much respite. Ms Lim said that Brexit negotiations “will clearly have implications for the industry” adding that “inflation will continue to weigh on consumer spend in the first half of the year”.
Research from Deloitte published today shows that consumer confidence was flat in the final quarter of last year compared with the previous period. It is the first time since 2011 that it did not fall in the last three months of the year.