Food fight takes toll on Waitrose: Grocer boss James Bailey checks out amid
Waitrose is facing a leadership shake-up as boss James Bailey quits amid a growing challenge from M&S.
Bailey’s departure was announced yesterday, 11 months after Jason Tarry took over as boss of parent John Lewis Partnership (JLP).
It is understood that he does not have a position lined up elsewhere and is instead taking a career break.
Three years ago, Waitrose led in the battle of the upmarket grocers, with a market share of 4.2 per cent, while M&S had 3.6 per cent.
But the two are now neck and neck as Waitrose’s slice is 3.8 per cent while M&S’s is 3.7 per cent, according to the market researcher Nielsen IQ.
Bailey, who has steered the grocer through the pandemic and cost of living crisis since joining in 2020, is due to step down next month.
Expiry date: Waitrose boss James Bailey (pictured), who has steered the grocer through the pandemic and cost of living crisis since joining in 2020, is due to step down next month
He said it ‘feels like the right time to hand over the reins’, with a hunt for his successor now under way.
‘Waitrose is back on a very strong footing with record customer numbers, strong sales growth and a turnaround in profitability,’ he said.
Retail director Tina Mitchell will be interim boss from September 30. It comes as Tarry, who previously led Tesco’s UK business, has been leading a revival at Waitrose and John Lewis department stores.
But it is battling M&S, which yesterday announced a £340million investment in a new food distribution centre in Northamptonshire.
Retail expert Jonathan De Mello, founder of consultants JDM Retail, said Bailey’s departure was a ‘blow’ adding: ‘Waitrose stores increasingly look tired and underinvested in – in stark contrast to the “glow-up” M&S have put on stores.’
De Mello also said Waitrose had a ‘confused pricing strategy’, which ‘runs the risk of alienating their affluent core customer base’.
Tarry has pledged to boost investment in JLP’s stores, and bring back a focus on ‘the core elements of great retail’.
And there have been signs of green shoots, especially after John Lewis stores reintroduced its Never Knowingly Undersold promise and vowed to boost customer service.
Profits rose 73 per cent to £97million for the year to January 25, boosted by better fortunes at Waitrose, where sales lifted 4.4 per cent to £8billion.
Recent figures from market insights firm Worldpanel this week showed Waitrose sales grew 4.8 per cent to £1.6billion in the three months to August 10.
Tarry said Bailey was leaving Waitrose ‘in a much stronger position’, after doing ‘an outstanding job’.
Bailey’s exit follows that of JLP chief executive Nish Kankiwala, who stepped down last year after two years.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
InvestEngine
InvestEngine
Account and trading fee-free ETF investing
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free share dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Read More: Food fight takes toll on Waitrose: Grocer boss James Bailey checks out amid