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Departing David Jones chief executive Peter Wilkinson said yesterday he
hoped the outcome of the Coles Myer board struggle would allow his rival John
Fletcher to implement the retailer's recovery strategy.
He increased speculation that his successor at the up-market department store
group would be an internal candidate, naming three likely prospects for the job
he vacates early next year.
Speaking at a Securities Institute lunch in Melbourne, Mr Wilkinson said that
at one point he was ``certain" his replacement would come from company ranks.
``What I hope is now to come, is [that] John Fletcher and his team now have
the freedom to continue to put in place their operations of the business."
Mr Wilkinson, who had a 19-year career at Coles Myer that included leading
the Myer Grace division, said the retailer had suffered from changes in its
strategy over the past five years.
He said Coles Myer had done well to ``clean up" its department stores and
that he would like to see the company be ``moderately successful".
David Jones had implemented a policy of selecting talented employees who were
given senior level experience, making an internal replacement for his job the
most likely outcome.
``I am absolutely certain he, she or it will come from within the company,"
he said.
Later, Mr Wilkinson was more hesitant, saying an internal replacement was
``his guess".
``I'm not involved in the recruitment process obviously, but I and the board
have worked on succession planning for five years and they've got a uniquely
good choice from within the company and the capacity to flow in behind that, so
I suspect that's where they'll go."
He said three senior employees - finance director Stephen Goddard,
merchandising director Mark McInnes and stores director Don Grover - were likely
candidates, although the board had also been looking outside.
Mr Wilkinson said he hoped to leave his successor with a good choice for the
future direction of Foodchain, a troublesome initiative that has cost David
Jones about $40 million.
``It is looking as though, at the very least, we will know if we will get a
store profit out if it. If that is the least we get to, it's not embarrassing
any more, and we can run them through our food halls."
David Jones shares finished unchanged at $1.06.
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