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Morrisons played down suggestions that Mr Philips’s arrival would pave the way for Mr Bolland to end his period of gardening leave. “The date of Marc formally leaving the business and the arrival of Dalton Philips are not in any way correlated,” a spokesman said. Morrisons could hold Mr Bolland to a year’s gardening leave, meaning that he would not be free to replace Sir Stuart until November. Sir Stuart has estimated that Mr Bolland would join in May. A source close to Morrisons denied that the company was “dragging its feet”.
Loblaw, controlled by the Weston family, has turnover of C$30.8 billion (£18 billion) — similar to Asda and significantly bigger than Morrisons. Mr Philips was chief operating officer of Wal-Mart’s ill-fated German business between 1998 and 2005, where he worked under David Wild, the Halfords chief executive who was in contention for the Morrisons job in 2006.
He then ran Brown Thomas, the Dublin department store owned by the Weston family. Mr Philips, a Harvard MBA, also did stints in Spain, with the conglomerate Jardine Matheson, and in Brazil with Wal-Mart.
Last night Mr Leighton backed Mr Philips as the right man for the job and said that he would fit in with Sir Ian Gibson, the Morrisons chairman, and Sir Ken Morrison, the former chairman who ran the company for more than 50 years. Mr Leighton said: “Knowing the players as I do — and knowing the business as I do, I knew he would fit in. He’s a really good operator, a really good retailer.
“I never mind losing good people if it is helping with their development.”
The appointment means that former employees of Mr Leighton will be running three of Britain’s big four supermarkets: Andy Bond at Asda, Justin King at J Sainsbury and now Mr Philips at Morrisons
View from Canada
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. , in the midst of turning around its operations, faces further uncertainty with the loss of a senior executive that observers say was being groomed to take over its top operating position.
Dalton Philips, Loblaw's chief operating officer, is leaving the country's largest grocer at the end of March to become chief executive officer of Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, the fourth-ranked grocery chain in Britain.
Industry observers said his departure may delay Loblaw's efforts to reverse its fortunes - although it may not be a fatal blow.
His exit leaves a "serious void" at the grocer's senior ranks, Patricia Baker, retail analyst at Scotia Capital, said in a note yesterday. "It appears his departure comes as a surprise and to an extent impedes turn activities at Loblaw, in so much as management plays a role in the execution," she wrote.
Loblaw has seen a number of senior managers coming and going since Galen G. Weston, scion of the controlling Weston family, took the reins as executive chairman in late 2006.
He and Allan Leighton, deputy chairman and a close adviser to the Westons, have been focused on overhauling operations after a failed expansion into superstores and non-food products in Ontario to take on discount titan Wal-Mart Canada Corp.
The reshufflings have included the departure of high-profile retail executives such as Mark Foote, now CEO at discounter Zeller, and Frank Rocchetti, who left Loblaw last spring.
"I haven't seen too many retailers shuffling as much as they have in the past few years," said Tom Stephens, a former Loblaw executive who now runs Brand Strategy Consultants. "It tells us that they're very uncertain about what the future is."
Loblaw spokeswoman Inge van den Berg, who is moving on to a merchandising position within the company, said in an e-mail that Mr. Philips' staying on for two months ensures a smooth transition. The senior team will "continue to work to complete the company's turnaround plan," she added.Mr. Leighton will announce a successor to Mr. Philips "at the appropriate time."
While Loblaw's more recent results have shown signs of recovery, Mr. Leighton has taken a cautious approach. He has warned that while food inflation helped all grocers bolster their business in early 2009, deflation will now squeeze Loblaw and others.
Mr. Philips, a former Irish retail executive, joined Loblaw three years ago and was both well respected and well liked, insiders said. "He's a tough guy to replace, excellent leader and colleague," said one former employee.
He was believed to be the top choice to replace Mr. Leighton, who is also president. Mr. Leighton was expected to leave Loblaw in the next couple of years as the company's turnaround took hold.
Notes
Born and raised in the charm of rural Ireland, Dalton Philips is a man of many languages, countries and capabilities. He holds a BA, a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Business and, most recently, an MBA from Harvard. Dalton's career opportunities have taken him and his family to countries around the world. In January 2007, the Philips family moved to Oakville as Dalton assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer of Loblaw Companies Ltd. He is married, wife Penny and three young children,
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