Source : THE AGE NEWS
Bunnings chief executive Mike Schneider will retire in February next year, with chief customer officer Rachel McVitty set to take over the role.
Schneider joined the hardware chain in 2005 as a state operations manager and became managing director in January 2016.
Parent company Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott said Schneider was leaving Bunnings in excellent shape with the gratitude of the board and the team.
“Mike has been an outstanding leader of Bunnings, leading the business across a decade of consistent growth in sales and earnings while strengthening Bunnings’ strong culture and trust with the community,” Scott said.
“He has overseen significant transformation of Bunnings’ customer offer and digital ecosystem, which has set the business up for future success while also creating value for Wesfarmers shareholders.”
McVitty has today been appointed deputy managing director and will step into her new role on February 1.
Wesfarmers revealed the appointment at its full-year results. Group revenue at the $94.5 billion conglomerate rose 3.4 per cent to $47.3 billion, and net profits excluding significant items rose 8.3 per cent to $2.9 billion.
Over the year, Bunnings grew sales by 4.1 per cent to $20.4 billion; Kmart grew by 2.8 per cent to $11.75 billion; and Officeworks gained 3.7 per cent to $3.7 billion.
Scott said the businesses had focused on mitigating cost pressures and delivering better value, service, and convenience, lowering prices on thousands of items.
“Bunnings and Kmart Group’s everyday low prices continued to drive sales and earnings growth. Disciplined execution of strategies helped offset cost pressures and delivered operating leverage across both businesses,” said Scott.
“Bunnings’ solid trading performance reflected the strength and resilience of its offer and ability to deliver growth through a range of market conditions. Kmart Group’s higher earnings were supported by the strong value credentials of its Anko products and focus on operating efficiency and cost control.”
More to come
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Jessica Yun is a business reporter covering retail and food for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
