David Jones poaches new finance boss Clint May from Spotlight Group
Upmarket department store David Jones has replaced its chief financial officer just three months after the retailer was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners.
Upmarket department store David Jones has replaced its chief financial officer just three months after the retailer was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners, and amid revelations its sales had begun to slump as interest rates were hiked up.
David Jones announced on Monday it had appointed Clint May as its new chief financial officer, replacing Kathy Karabatsas, who has resigned. In a statement the department store said Ms Karabatsas is taking a break after helping to facilitate the successful financial turnaround of David Jones and its transition to new owners.
Ms Karabatsas, who will depart on July 28 and is a former executive at drinks company Lion, has held the CFO role for just two years, during which time she helped the turnaround team led by David Jones chief executive Scott Fyfe.
During her tenure, Ms Karabatsas helped stabilise the business and delivered a strong balance sheet and a solid platform for future growth, David Jones said.
“Ms Karabatsas has decided to take a well-earned break after this pivotal role in the company’s transformation, including the ownership transition to Anchorage Capital Partners, before embarking on a new career journey,” the statement said.
Mr May will join as David Jones’ new CFO from October 2. He has extensive retail experience with homewares and furnishings retailer Spotlight Group, where he is currently the group chief financial officer, board member and non-executive board member of several
subsidiary holdings.
Spotlight Group has a diverse set of businesses across Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and includes well-known brands such as Spotlight, Anaconda, Mountain Designs and Harris Scarfe.
Mr Fyfe said he wanted to thank Ms Karabatsas for her immense contribution to the company over the last two years.
“We have been so fortunate to benefit from her transformational experience and strong technical expertise, which have delivered proven results to our business – setting us in great stead for the future.
“We wish Kathy all the best for her future endeavours.
“I’m thrilled Clint May will be joining us as CFO. Clint is a fantastic fit for David Jones, with a long history of leading and delivering business outcomes for major companies, and a deep integration into the retail sector.
“In his role as Spotlight Group CFO, Clint manages the group’s finances across its investments in a diverse set of businesses.
“We are thrilled to have Clint coming on board and are looking forward to benefiting from his commercial expertise as David Jones cements its position as Australia’s leading omnichannel retailer.”
Last week The Australian revealed that David Jones’ sales growth across its store network – from its flagship CBD stores to its stores in the suburbs and regions – had slumped, with some stores suffering more than a 30 per cent collapse in sales over the first weeks of June compared to the same time last year.
Mr Fyfe has partly blamed the quick acceleration of interest rates over the last year and in particular the last two months of interest rate hikes by the RBA for suffocating consumer confidence and discretionary spending.
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