Fin24 reports that Sean Summers, the former CEO of Pick n Pay, is raring to go and ready for "battle" as he returns after a hiatus of 16 years in order to restore the retailer's fortunes.
The 70-year-old, who has been based in the UK since 2010, said on Monday that he felt a "huge sense of excitement" to be returning to the group. He indicated: “Retail is a battle. You go to work every single day, and it's hand-to-hand combat. You fight for your corner of the patch, and that's what you do.” Summers has been appointed CEO with immediate effect to replace Pieter Boone and will return to SA full-time from 1 December. He acknowledged that he has a difficult task ahead. The retailer, valued at R17 billion on the JSE, is struggling with intensified competition, load shedding and a weak consumer environment. Summers, who headed Pick n Pay from 1999 to early 2007, is optimistic about the prospects for the group regaining its shine, pointing out that all of SA's major retailers have gone through ups and downs over the years. Explaining the circumstances around his second stint at the helm, Summers said that he had been approached directly by Pick n Pay chair Gareth Ackerman, with the details of his return worked out over the past couple of weeks. Summers hopes to leverage all the retail experience he has picked up in the years since leaving Pick n Pay.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nick Wilson at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
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