Mothercare, a British retailer that specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children, has named David Wood as the successor of Mark Newton-Jones, who has stepped down as CEO of the company.
“I am excited as I have been given responsibility to lead a business with a fantastic heritage and which has an exciting future,” said David Wood, CEO in a press statement issued.
David, who was previously associated with Kmart Holding Corp. as President, is credited with successfully transforming the customer value proposition and retail operating model and returning the business to sustainable profit growth.
Before Kmart, David also served Tesco, where he held senior commercial, marketing and general management positions and achieved similar results in the UK and internationally.
“David’s track record in similar circumstances across international and consumer-facing brands made him the obvious choice for the post is a highly effective operator of retail operations,” stated Alan Parker, Chairman, Mothercare.
His appointment also makes it clear that Mothercare has a fresh leadership to complete its transformation plan and return to growth.
Notably, Mothercare has suffered 85 per cent loss in market value in the past 1 year, stated FactSet, a financial data and software company. Additionally, Mothercare witnessed a 70 per cent drop since the beginning of the year.
Last month, the retailer stated that its annual profits were likely to be in the range of £ 1-5 million and slash its store count from 140 to 80 in response to the trend to online shopping.
It’d be challenging for the newly appointed CEO to drive Mothercare towards growth but he is confident and says, “I am focussed to ensure Mothercare is put back on a sound financial footing and deliver a successful plan to improve performance.”
