Galen Weston stepping down as Loblaw president
Galen Weston stepping down as Loblaw president
The Loblaws grocery chain is about to undergo a significant leadership change, with Galen G. Weston, the current president and public face of the company, set to step down from his role by the end of the year. In an announcement on Tuesday morning, Loblaw Co. Ltd. revealed that Per Bank, the CEO of Salling Group A/S, Denmark’s largest retailer, will be taking over as president and CEO of Canada’s biggest grocer in 2024.
Loblaw President Galen Weston leaving role.
According to the release, the appointment follows a search that began in August in preparation for the retirement of Robert Sawyer, Loblaw’s chief operating officer. Weston became president in 2021, taking over from Sarah Davis, who had previously held the position. After his departure, Weston will remain the chair of the board and will continue to run George Weston Limited, the parent company of Loblaw, which is controlled by the Weston family.
On Tuesday morning, Loblaw executives praised Bank during a call with investors to discuss the leadership transition. Weston, meanwhile, drew parallels between Salling Group’s position in Denmark and Loblaw’s in Canada, highlighting the challenges and opportunities that come with being a large company in a relatively small country.
Weston will step back, but not go far
While Weston stated that Bank’s appointment will enable him to step back from the day-to-day management of the business, he made it clear that he intends to remain involved in Loblaw’s long-term direction. As he put it, he will be stepping back into his “natural role” as the controlling shareholder of the company.
Weston has been a familiar face to Canadians as the spokesperson and corporate leader for Loblaws’ grocery stores. He has appeared in commercials and defended the company’s profits in front of members of Parliament at committee meetings. Weston and other grocery executives have faced criticism over the past year for their growing corporate profits in the face of rampant food inflation.
No Name is a line of generic brand grocery and household products sold by Loblaw.
At a parliamentary committee meeting last month, Weston defended Loblaw’s profits as “reasonable,” explaining that the company only makes $1 of profit for every $25 spent on groceries at its stores. Inflation at the grocery store has eased somewhat in recent months, dropping to 9.7% in March, but it remains more than double the headline rate of inflation for the month.
In late 2022, Loblaw announced a temporary price freeze on its No Name brand products, aimed at helping Canadians deal with high inflation. Despite the challenges faced by the company and the industry as a whole, Weston’s departure from the role of president is a significant development that will be watched closely by Canadians and investors alike.