Bunnings rejigs management after sudden exit of chief operations officer Simon McDowell

Hardware giant Bunnings has rejigged its senior executive ranks after the sudden and unexplained departure of its chief operations officer.

Bunnings has restructured its senior executive ranks after the sudden departure of its chief operations officer only a year into his role. Picture: Getty Images

Bunnings has triggered a management restructure at its most senior executive levels after the sudden departure of the hardware group’s chief operating officer and second in charge Simon McDowell, who left only a year into his role.

Mr McDowell, a former senior executive at retailers including The Coca-Cola Company, Dairy Farm International, Sony and recently chief customer officer at Coles, joined Bunnings in 2021 as COO and informal deputy to Bunnings boss Mike Schneider.

The reasons for his departure have not been explained.

Mr McDowell’s departure has created an opportunity for Bunnings to restructure its senior management, with the retailer promoting Ryan Baker to chief customer officer and Ben Camire to store operations boss across Australia and New Zealand. Mr Baker and Mr Camire have essentially split the former role of chief operating officer between them.

“We’re pleased to confirm Ryan Baker was appointed to the role of chief customer officer a few months ago,” Bunnings managing director Michael Schneider said in response to questions.

“Ryan has been with the Bunnings business for over 20 years and brings an enormous amount of experience and success as a retail leader into this role.”

In Bunnings’ recent history, over the last eight years, there have been at least three periods when the COO role hasn’t formed part of the structure, and responsibilities for merchandising and marketing have been separated from retail operations. It is believed these changes reflect internal priorities of the group.

Mr Baker began his career with Bunnings 21 years ago as an operations managers at one its warehouses in Queensland.

Bunnings managing director Michael Schneider. Picture: AAP

His LinkedIn profile says he began his role as Bunnings chief customer officer in November.

No official reasons have been given for the exit of Mr McDowell. The COO role was the second most important position in the organisation, with Mr McDowell often running Bunnings when Mr Schneider was overseas.

Mr McDowell remains a director of roadside assistance and insurance group RACV.

The restructure of Bunnings’ senior ranks comes as the hardware retailer faces a number of challenges heading into Christmas and the new year, including recently beginning a round of redundancies at its head office and support centres that will eliminate about 140 roles.

Mr Schneider recently conceded that sales for its seasonal hardware, outdoor and gardening categories had been softer because of poor weather across the east coast. This had led to excess inventories, prompting Bunnings to purchase extra warehousing.

Bunnings has always operated a hybrid supply chain model, with its own warehouses and third-party facilities. To support peak trading and seasonal stock, it has typically used outside storage facilities for its short-term needs.

Shaun Cousins, an analyst at UBS, told clients in late November that he had revised up earnings per share growth for Wesfarmers for both this and the next financial year after the company’s annual meeting earlier that month.

In particular, Mr Cousins said he had higher performance expectations for Kmart, which was offset by a reduction in earnings forecasts for Bunnings and Officeworks, which he put down to “conservatism”.

Overall, however, Mr Cousins said the investment bank remained confident that the Wesfarmers retail divisions – which accounted for 82 per cent of earnings before tax in the 12 months to June 30 – were “well positioned for a slower consumer environment, given strong value propositions and the significant market share headroom available”.

Wesfarmers shares closed 69c lower at $46.97 on Friday. They are down 22 per cent this year.