Big changes for Pick n Pay in 2024
Newly-appointed Pick n Pay group CEO Sean Summers has appointed his senior leadership team as a key step in the drive to return the retailer to growth in 2024.
Summers has appointed a Group Executive of six members with a mix of experience, the retailer said.
The new executive includes Group CFO Lerena Olivier, Chief People Officer Thembi Mbengashe, and Managing Executive for Clothing Hazel Pillay.
It also added Dallas Langman in the newly created position of Managing Executive of the Pick n Pay Retail Division, while Johan Grobler will take over Rest of Africa leadership from Dallas and will have additional responsibility for Value Added Services and Tomis, the newly acquired meat producing and processing facility.
Marek Masojada remains Boxer Managing Executive.
“These changes will allow us to focus with clarity on the job at hand.
“This includes creating a new, dedicated head of Retail, regionalising our Retail division to allow a much sharper focus on our customers, and the creation of a dedicated Commercial section to focus on our products across the retail spectrum,” said Summers.
He added that the new Pick n Pay Retail division will focus on retail at Pick n Pay, which needs the most attention. PnP Retail is effectively a standalone business, with Franchises now falling under it.
“This will mean that the actual trading in the franchise will fall under Retail, which is where it should be.
“The customer will now see one Pick n Pay with the same execution and the same operational standards as corporate-owned stores. It will now be a seamless experience for customers,” Summers said.
“With six reports, I can now focus properly on the next three years and build for the future.
“The new structure will enable clarity of leadership across our business, with seasoned professionals in charge,” said Summers.
The plan to save Pick n Pay
In October 2023, Pick n Pay announced that Pieter Boone was stepping down as the company’s group CEO and would be replaced by Summers, who was Pick n Pay’s CEO between 1999 and 2007.
During his tenure as CEO, Summers made Pick n Pay a grocery market leader in South Africa.
Under Boone, Pick n Pay started to lag behind the market as its earnings and revenue could not keep up with its competitors.
Pick n Pay posted a significant loss for the six months ended 27 August 2023 (H1 FY24), as the Group’s key core supermarket business took a severe hit due to load-shedding expenses and employee restructuring.
Despite all retailers having been hit with externalities like load shedding, Pick n Pay’s rivals, such as Shoprite and Woolworths, maintained robust trading performances while growing revenue and their businesses.
Summers noted at the end of last year that Pick n Pay’s core business had lost its edge. This is because the company’s products, presentation and variety have not kept up with the rest of the market.
Despite the company’s current situation, Summers is optimistic that there is still space in the market for Pick n Pay.
“I think if we apply our minds correctly, we can come back and carve back its place in the marketplace,” he said.
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