Roger Corbett exits Wal-Mart

The former Woolworths CEO will now have far more time to be involved with the supermarket.

26/11/2015: Mayne Pharma Chairman Roger Corbett in Melbourne. Stuart McEvoy for The Australian.

Former Woolworths chief executive Roger Corbett will now have much more time to meddle in the supermarket he once ran and to help current boss Brad Banducci repair the retailer’s ailing food and grocery arm, after it was announced Mr Corbett would step down from the board of US supermarket giant Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart overnight announced a number of planned retirements from its board, in keeping with its corporate governance guidelines that limit director terms. It said four current directors, including Mr Corbett, are retiring and it would cut the size of its board to 12 from 15 following its annual meeting on June 3 as part of a plan to “strengthen the board for the future.”

Mr Corbett will leave the US group after a decade within the boardroom of one of the biggest retail businesses in the world.

He will now have a lot more spare time on his hands, which he could put to good use at his old business Woolworths.

Last year Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns hired its most successful CEO, Mr Corbett, to advise the company and act as a mentor as it tackles huge operational challenges at its supermarkets as well as the loss-making Masters hardware chain and shrinking earnings at Big W.

Mr Corbett is believed to be being paid more than $700,000 for less than one day a week of advisory work, and has already done a number of store walks with Mr Banducci and imparted his views and ideas of how to fix Woolworths flagship supermarket business.

Late last year Mr Banducci, whose supermarket operations are responsible for more than 90 per cent of group pre-tax earnings, said he had benefited greatly from a recent walk through a few stores with Mr Corbett over a weekend.

“To be clear, Roger and myself have already agreed that we’re going to agree on about 80 per cent of things. There are 20 per cent of things that will be different, by definition, and we have both been very open with each other that that’s the case,’’ Mr Banducci said at the time.

“If you can agree with anyone about 80 per cent of things, you’re probably going well,” Mr Banducci said.

Mr Corbett is also set to join the board of Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group, the pubs joint venture with the Bruce Mathieson Group.

Today Wesfarmers released its third quarter retail sales results, with Coles posting strong like for like sales of 4.9 per cent. Woolworths is expected to post negative sales growth for the quarter, meaning Coles will have beaten Woolworths in terms of sales growth for 27 straight quarters.