M&S poaches Halfords boss McDonald to run non-food arm
Halfords Group has lost another chief executive to a larger retailer, with Jill McDonald poached by Marks & Spencer to be managing director of its non-food business.
FTSE 100
7,895.85
16:59 19/04/24
FTSE 250
19,391.30
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE 350
4,341.08
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,296.41
17:08 19/04/24
General Retailers
3,864.64
17:09 19/04/24
Halfords Group
147.60p
16:40 19/04/24
Marks & Spencer Group
245.80p
17:05 19/04/24
McDonald will remain in her role at the FTSE 250 company, which two years ago saw previous boss Matt Davies fly the nest for Tesco, until October.
She will take over M&S's troubled clothing, home and beauty business, which has been under the wing of chief executive Steve Rowe, to whom she will report directly.
McDonald, who began as CEO of the bike and car accessory retailer in May 2015 after almost a decade at McDonald's Corporation, will also take over the logistics responsibilities from finance director Helen Weir.
Said Rowe: "I am pleased with the progress we have made in Clothing & Home over the last year and the time is now right for this appointment."
He highlighted McDonald's "first-class customer knowledge and great experience in running dynamic, high achieving teams" as the clothing and home business moves "from recovery in to growth", or so he hopes.
McDonald added: "M&S has a unique, special relationship with its customers and I am very motivated by working closely with customers to drive and shape results. I have long been an M&S customer and professional fan, so working with the brand was a career opportunity that I just couldn't turn down. I am looking forward to joining Steve and the team later this year to build on the plans that are already underway."
Halfords chairman Dennis Millard, having seen two CEOs jump ship since he encouraged boss David Wild to walk the plank in 2012, assured that results for the 52 weeks ended 31 March to be announced on 25 May 2017 are expected to be in line with market expectations, with the analyst consensus forecast for profit before tax of £74.2m.
Following nine profit warnings in two years under Wild, Davies began a slow turnaround that McDonald has continued.
Millard added: "We are grateful to Jill for the positive impact she has made across the business. She will leave Halfords with a strong team and a clear strategy to drive future growth."
"The Moving Up A Gear strategy is well underway and is delivering significant momentum across the organisation. We all look forward to continuing to work with her over the next few months and she will leave with our best wishes for the future."
Shareholders in M&S seemed underwhelmed, with the shares dipping 0.8% to 367.9p after almost an hour of trading on Wednesday, while Halfords was down more than 3% to 363.3p.
The news of McDonald's departure "may not have been a total surprise, as she never seemed completely well suited to the role, and Halfords CEO’s never seem to last long," said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb, who admitted it was a shock to see her leaving a CEO role.
Analysts at broker Canaccord Genuity suggested Halfords’ head office location in Redditch "may act as a deterrent to some potential candidates", despite nestling in a sweet spot between Birmingham, Worcester, Stratford-upon-Avon and Kidderminster.
They added: "This is an interesting appointment from an M&S perspective, since Ms McDonald, whose prior roles include long stints at McDonalds and BA, cannot be seen as a clothing expert. What she does bring is considerable experience in marketing and customer relationship management (CRM), which have become even greater areas of focus under Steve Rowe’s tenure."