Justin King, celebrated CEO of Sainsbury’s, will step down today (9 July) at the company’s London AGM following 10 years at the helm.
He will be succeeded immediately by commercial director Mike Coupe, who will take over as of today.
King, who has not announced where he will go next, has been credited with turning Sainsbury’s fortunes around to regain its position as the UK’s third largest retailer.
“If you had said in 2007 that Sainsbury's would outperform Asda, Morrisons and Tesco you would have been in danger of being sectioned and that is his greatest achievement,' Clive Black, of Shore Capital Stockbrokers, told the Guardian.
King's last set of results saw like-for-like sales rise by 0.2 per cent for the 52 weeks to 15 March 2014.
He said: 'I'd have preferred sales to be growing but I'm not leaving on a low. Total sales are growing and we delivered a performance in the context of a market that is growing at the lowest level in 10 years.'
Black told the paper that Coupe needs to win over Sainsbury's staff, but gave him credit for the recent Netto JV that allowed Sainsbury’s to enter the discount market without sacrificing quality.
'We thought that was a very good idea. In terms of strategic thinking, we applaud it,' Black told the paper.
No comments yet