Former Morrisons boss David Potts is reportedly in talks with B&M about becoming retailer’s next chief executive.
Potts, who was CEO at Morrisons from 2015 until 2023, is said to be a leading candidate in B&M’s search for a replacement for Alex Russo, who stepped down in February.
Russo’s departure came as B&M downgraded its profits guidance for the second time this year, amid flagging sales at the variety discounter. Its same-store UK like-for-like sales fell 3.6% in the first half to 28 September 2024 and 2.8% in the third quarter to 28 December.
B&M’s board said at the time that a search for a replacement was in advanced stages with help of an executive search firm.
Potts is a leading candidate in the recruitment process, having been in the talks with the variety discounter for weeks, The Sunday Times reported at the weekend.
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However, sources told the paper no final decision had been taken and an appointment was unlikely to be finalised for several weeks.
Potts is one of the most highly regarded figures in UK grocery, with a career spanning more than 50 years.
Before joining Morrisons he spent 39 years at Tesco, joining as a store assistant aged 16 and working his way up to become CEO of its Ireland business, its UK retail stores business and then CEO of Tesco Asia.
He stepped down from Morrisons in 2023, and was replaced by Morrisons’ US owners Clayton Dubilier & Rice with Rami Baitiéh.
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