Retail Food Group appoints Matthew Marshall as CEO

By Rakshnna Pattabiraman

Matthew Marshall has been appointed CEO of Retail Food Group (RFG), effective 1 July.

As head of retail with the group, Marshall was instrumental in implementing the business’ franchisee-first and customer-centric values and strategy and has been internally promoted from his current position as the head of retail, the company said.

Executive chairman Peter George said the board is confident that Marshall has the “skills and energy necessary to assume broader responsibilities” for the company’s growth strategy. To ensure an orderly succession, George will continue in his role for a further two years.

Of his appointment, Marshall said he is looking forward to shaping the company’s future, maintaining its retail and franchisee-first mindset to realise its potential.

Meanwhile, in a trading update, the company said year-to-date domestic sales have grown 8.5 per cent to $478 million with second-half sales moderating due to macroeconomic conditions.

“The impact on trading conditions of successive interest rate rises, together with general inflationary pressures, has become more apparent in H2. We expect these factors will continue to influence the domestic trading environment for the foreseeable future,” said the company in a statement.

The company expects FY23 underlying EBITDA guidance to be in the range of $26 million to $29 million.

RFG owns and operates Gloria Jean’s, Crust Gourmet Pizza, Donut King, Brumby’s Bakery, Cafe2U Michel’s Patisserie, Pizza Capers and The Coffee Guy.

Toys ‘R’ Us names Penny Cox as its new CEO

By Robert Stockdill

Toys ‘R’ Us has chosen an experienced e-commerce executive Penny Cox with extensive international experience to take over as CEO. 

She will replace Louis Mittoni, the controlling shareholder, who has taken a step back in the organisation as part of a strategic plan for the expansion of the ASX-listed business announced in March.

Cox has held roles with companies including Ocado, Coles, Redmart, Alibaba and Carousell across the UK, Australia, and Southeast Asia. At Redmart, in four years as VP of commercial and marketing, revenue grew from $14 million to $285 million per annum and the platform’s product offer increased 25-fold after the adoption of drop shipping. 

In a statement filed with the ASX, Toys R Us said Cox would commence her CEO role on August 7, but in the interim would assist as a consultant in “key IT projects” from next week. Currently based in Singapore, she will relocate to Melbourne, where she has lived previously, with her family during the next few months. 

Maison Margiela appoints new CEO and president

By Irene Dong

The French fashion brand Maison Margiela has appointed Gaetano Sciuto as its new CEO, and Stefano Rosso as president. 

Sciuto will take over as CEO in July, replacing Gianfranco Gianangeli, who departed the company to pursue a new career opportunity.

Meanwhile, Stefano Rosso, a member of OTB’s board and the CEO of Brave Virtual Xperience, was named president last month, succeeding his father Renzo, who had served in that capacity since OTB acquired Maison Margiela in 2002. Both will report to Ubaldo Minelli, CEO of the OTB group. 

Sciuto has over 30 years of experience working in the fashion and luxury industries and holds a business economics degree from Milan’s Bocconi University. He used to be the CEO of Giorgio Armani Americas before working for Maison Margiela. Prior to that, he had held different positions at Fendi. 

OTB Group expanded its presence in China with four new flagships last year. It opened four large-scale storefronts for Maison Margiela, Marni, Amiri, and Jil Sander on the busiest corner of West Nanjing Road in Shanghai, its largest retail project to date. 

Former Macy’s executive appointed Stitch Fix CEO

By Aron Lewin

Stitch Fix, a leading subscription fashion company in the US, has appointed Matt Baer as its new chief executive.

Baer was formerly the chief customer and digital officer at Macy’s, where he was responsible for the growth and long term vision of its digital businesses. During his tenure, Macy delivered over 30 per cent digital growth between FY19 and FY22. 

Prior to joining Macy’s, Baer was vice president of e-commerce at Walmart.com. 

Effective 26 June, he will replace Stitch Fix founder, interim CEO and executive chairperson Katrina Lake, who is set to work closely with Baer during the transition. Lake will continue her role as executive chair person

In a company statement, Baer said that he was incredibly excited to join Stitch Fix as CEO, which fuses AI with stylists to offer a convenient shopping experience.

“I look forward to working with the talented team at Stitch Fix and leveraging my years of experience building and scaling retail businesses to deliver a sustained future of profitable growth,” he said.

Lake added that Stitch Fix’s board of directors and management team were impressed with his retail business experience.

“I’m confident we can continue to build on our significant competitive advantage in leveraging data and stylists to deliver the most personal experience in the industry and drive growth for the future,” Lake said.

Stitch Fix reported net revenue of US$394.9 million in its third fiscal quarter – a 20 per cent decrease on the year prior.