Why Retail CEOs Are Dropping Like Flies
The health of the retail industry as a whole is being put into questions, as retail CEOs leave their positions in droves.
Retail, at every level, is a volatile environment to work in. At the ground level, dealing with the public (often for low wages) is a feat unto itself. The upper levels are just as cutthroat, due to the nature of consistently shifting market trends. This has been further complicated by an emerging outright shift in the very ways consumers shop, with a move to online-based commerce taking the forefront. Throw the lingering effects from the pandemic in the mix and you have a recipe for major shakeups, particularly among leadership. The Wall Street Journal reported that retailers big and small, from startups like RealReal to giants like Dollar General and The Gap, have all been saying goodbye (or getting ready to) to their Chief Executives. To put it bluntly, retail CEOs are dropping like flies.
So what are the major factors fueling this concerning trend? After all, it doesn’t inspire much confidence in investors, employees, and consumers if leadership is unstable. According to Craig Johnson, who is the president of the consulting firm Customer Growth Partners, “The skills necessary for a CEO to succeed today are much broader,” in comparison to the past. In the past, The Wall Street Journal highlighted that retail CEOs would tend to be exceptional at predicting the next popular market trend or be an aficionado in the logistics of operations. That started to change with the rise of e-commerce and was put into overdrive following the onset of the pandemic. Now simply being an expert in one area is just not enough.
Moreover, this trend has become evident in the overall performance of many big box retailers. For instance, stores like Kohl’s and Bed, Bath & Beyond have been struggling for years to remain relevant in an evolving retail market. Once mighty behemoths like Revlon have filed for bankruptcy. And Malls with department store figureheads like Nordstrom and Macy’s are quickly going the way of the dodo bird. Thus, it makes sense that the noticeable pattern with retail CEOs would mimic the ebbs or even the ultimate fall of some big retail icons.
Another reason for the mega shakeup with retail CEOs is the fact that many delayed stepping down whilst the pandemic was at its height, reasoning that their businesses could not handle yet another caveat amid a period riddled with so much uncertainty. Hence what’s happening now is a result of the fact that some sense of semi-normalcy has been restored to the retail market. Additionally, while many traditional retailers are struggling, forward-thinking startups saw a lot of growth as a result of this new age of retail. Thus, their growth necessitates a need for different kinds of skilled leadership to ensure their businesses keep advancing in the right direction.
Overall, the fact that retail CEOs are leaving, while somewhat alarming, is symptomatic of the nature of the retail industry in general. Retail, by nature, is unpredictable, and unexpected changes occur at any given time including changing CEOs. And ultimately, change is inevitable, which means that a person who was once right for the job may not be in the current market. So really, the fact that retail CEOs are dropping like flies is simply characteristic of the industry itself.
