Two of Myer’s most senior executives have announced their plans to leave

Olivia Wirth begins as Myer executive chairman in June but she now faces the prospect of having to find new help in an unfamiliar industry as senior executives exit.

New Myer executive chairman Olivia Wirth at the Sydney store. Picture: John Feder

The highly proclaimed strategy of surrounding incoming Myer executive chairman Olivia Wirth with the ‘safe hands’ of senior executives steeped in retail experience is starting to crumble, with two high-profile and crucial executives of the department store announcing their departure.

On Friday Myer announced to staff in an internal email, obtained by The Australian, chief merchandise officer Allan Winstanley and executive general manager of supply chain Tony Carr have formally advised they will be leaving the business in the second half of the year.

Following their departure from Australia, they will both be returning to Britain to be closer to their families.

The loss of these two important executives will be a serious blow to Ms Wirth’s start in the powerful position as executive chair of the 124-year old department store, with the merchandising boss and supply chain manager among the most important executives outside of the chief financial officer.

The looming loss of Mr Carr will be a painful blow to the Myer board and Ms Wirth, with the highly respected supply chain specialist ocerseeing the construction of Myer’s new distribution centre in Melbourne. However, it is believed that Mr Carr has committed to stay at the helm of the supply chain division until the distribution centre is commissioned and opened, giving Ms Wirth key expertise as the crucial infrastructure asset begins operating and is integrated into the department store’s operations.

Last week, Myer shocked the business community when it announced current CEO John King would leave in June and be replaced by the ex-Qantas loyalty scheme boss Ms Wirth, despite her having no direct retail experience. Her supporters have been quick to remind onlookers that as the boss of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program she oversaw a sizeable asset within Qantas and one that had direct relationships with as many as 700 retailer partners.

Outgoing Myer CERO John King. Picture: Supplied

The shock of her elevation to the top job at Myer was amplified by further news she would be an executive chairman of Myer, not just CEO, with then-chairman Ari Mervis departing immediately.

This was done with the blessing of Myer’s largest shareholder, billionaire retailer Solomon Lew, who also withdrew his support for Mr Mervis.

It was reported in The Australian before Ms Wirth was considered for the powerful executive chairman position Mark McInnes, the former David Jones boss and the CEO of Mr Lew’s listed fashion empire, was also considered for the job, but Mr Mervis and the Myer board couldn’t agree on terms.

It was argued turning to Ms Wirth, who had been a director of Myer since November, would help ease the transition and cause as little disruption as possible, especially to the executive ranks. The board discussed at great length the likelihood that if they hired Mr McInnes he would bring on board his own team of managers, which would have created disruption among Myer’s executive ranks just at a time when the retailer was trading profitably and taking market share from rivals. That executive upheaval seems to have taken place anyway.

Furthermore, despite her lack of direct retail experience at running a retail chain, she would have long-serving Myer executives around her to help guide her and direct Myer’s retail strategy, and in particular executives deeply involved in the turnaround orchestrated by Mr King. These include execuitves such as the newly prmoted chief operating officer Tony Sutton, who joined Myer in 1992, and property executive Timothy Clarke who has spent the last 37 years at Myer. However, Ms Wirth’s wingman in running Myer, chief financial officer Matt Jackman, only started his role in February - although he has been at Myer for six years which covered the time of the turnaround of the business and its improved customer engagement and financial performance.

It comes as Mr Lew’s Premier Investments prepares to release its first-half results to the market on Tuesday which could coincide with an announcement of a takeover of Myer or demerging some of its fashion and apparel brands into the Myer corporate vehicle.

Either way, Ms Wirth is set to start her job leading Myer in early June and will require existing executives to act as a sounding board as she sets about revamping Myer’s loyalty offer and customer engagement to create a new and powerful pillar that is as strong as the one she ran at Qantas.

However, the planned departures have begun. On Friday, Mr King told Myer staff in an internal email Mr Winstanely and Mr Carr would be leaving.

The departure of both will be a huge blow to Myer’s direction this year as both are responsible for crucial strategies within the business, where fashion and apparel merchandise is stocked in-store and the means by which it gets there — the supply chain — which are among the most important functions of a national department store.

Mr King underlined this importance in his email to staff.

“With their teams, Allan and Tony have been instrumental in the delivery of the Customer First Plan and the transformation of our business and, having worked with them both over many years and at different organisations, I am enormously proud and thankful of what has been achieved in their areas of the business.”

Mr King said in his email while Mr Carr informed him late last year and Mr Winstanley shared his plans in February, after the recent company announcements and the appointment of Ms Wirth, they both indicated they would provide flexibility in their leaving dates to “provide as much support as they can to Olivia and the executive team as we enter a new phase of growth within the business.”

“Importantly, they are supported by strong leadership teams in their respective areas, which will allow us the appropriate time to undertake a comprehensive recruitment process and ensure we retain the momentum building across these important parts of our business.

“Now is not the time for farewells but we’ll arrange an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Allan and Tony at a suitable time later in the year.”

Ms Wirth starts as executive chairman at Myer on June 4.