Turnaround CEO John King plans to leave Myer next year to focus on family

John King, the UK retail industry veteran who has turned around the fortunes of Myer Holdings (ASX: MYR) over the past five years, has announced he will be retiring as CEO in the second half of next calendar year for personal reasons.

King, who joined Myer after forging a 30-year career in retailing in the UK and US, is heading back to the US to be ‘with his family as their health circumstances demand’, Myer says in an ASX announcement today.

A spokesman for Myer tells Business News Australia that King’s family currently resides in the US, from where he relocated to Melbourne after joining Myer.

When King was appointed to lead Myer in 2018, the company was in a swirl of controversy after posting a $486 million half-year loss for FY18 and its biggest shareholder Premier Investments (ASX: PMV), led by Solomon Lew, was agitating for board renewal. The criticism from Lew continued for several years after King's appointment.

Since then, King has overseen record sales of $1.88 billion in the first half of FY23, boosting the company's interim bottom-line profit to $65 million.

Myer notes that under his leadership, Myer’s underlying pre-tax profit since FY18 has grown from $32.5 million to $60.2 million in FY22 and surged to $65 million in the latest half-year.

Myer says the results reflect King’s rapid implementation of his 'Customer First Plan' five years ago which ‘has not only seen Myer navigate the pandemic but also transition the business into a profitable and stronger business’.

“The strength of the Customer First Plan has Myer well-placed to transition leadership with John’s departure in the second half of calendar 2024,” Myer says.

“The latest results in a standout 1H23 demonstrated the significance of what this plan has achieved with a company record sales result, Myer’s best profit result in nearly a decade, a strong balance sheet and a special dividend for shareholders.”

Prior to joining Myer, King had worked for three years in the US where he had consulted to US-based retailers and where he was actively involved in a number of startups.

Born in Ireland, he started his career with UK retail giant Sainsbury’s, later working at Marks & Spencer before accepting senior roles in the UK and US manufacturing and wholesale sector.

King’s appointment to Myer was announced in April 2018, with his achievements at Myer including the development of a strong omni-channel retail offering and positioning MYER one as ‘one of Australia’s best performing loyalty programs’.

Myer also notes that King ‘aggressively right-sized space requirements reducing overall space by 11.1 per cent since 1H18 and delivered a stronger balance sheet with over $267 million in net cash’ at the end of the FY23 first half.

“The board thanks John for his extraordinary contribution to the company,” Myer chairman JoAnne Stephenson says.

“In what will be more than six years at the end of his tenure, John will have delivered a remarkable turnaround in the positioning and performance of the business.”

Myer last year took possession of a fully automated robotic national distribution centre in Melbourne, aimed at shoring up Myer’s capacity to handle more than $1 billion in online sales a year.

Myer says the new facility, combined with the reintroduction of Country Road to its brand offering, will build on its existing sales momentum, positioning the retailer to continue its 'outperformance of the market’.

“When I leave Myer next year, I will do so knowing that the business has a great team of people and a bright future,” King says.

“I am proud of what we have achieved so far with lots more to do, so it will be a busy year ahead.”

Myer says the long lead-up to King’s departure will allow the board time to conduct a ‘thorough local and international search’ for his replacement and  facilitate a smooth leadership transition.