The Very Group hires ex-Walmart executive as CEO amid £4bn IPO rumours
The Very Group has snapped up the former president and CEO of Walmart Japan Lionel Desclée to run the online retail giant as it mulls a £4bn float.
Desclée will join the company on 19 September, as current CEO Henry Birch will step down after four and a half years overseeing the firm.
Very Group owns e-commerce brands including fashion retailer Very and homeware and clothing seller Littlewoods.
Its Barclay family owners have reportedly been keen to get sidelined plans for a £4bn float back on track, according to a report in The Times earlier this year.
“The company has a rich history of transformation and an even more exciting future supporting families in the UK and Ireland with amazing brands, flexible payment options and a simple customer experience,” Lionel Desclée said.
“I can’t wait to start working with the team to further strengthen the convenience, flexibility and value Very provides, whilst exploring new products and services to support our customers,” he added.
The company told CityA.M. it had no update to provide regarding an IPO on Wednesday morning.
It has been hoped a public listing would be achieved by the middle of next year, according to The Times newspaper’s reports.
Senior managers have been offered incentive packages in order to stay on for a number of years to steer the retail firm through its public listing.
After the pandemic saw the company’s sales skyrocket, bosses had been keen for an IPO. However, these ambitions were put on ice as tech firms have seen their share prices crash in the months after going public.
Concerns over historic levels of inflation, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, further stalled plans.
In its results for the year ended 3 July 2021, group revenue had swelled 13 per cent to a record £2.3bn, driven in particular by Very retail sales.
Very also hit a total of 3.82m customers in the year ended July 3 2021, boosting the group’s total customers to 4.82m.