HBC’S NEW CEO, VIA CVS, HAS WORK CUT OUT FOR HER.
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TORON TO • Between placating activist investors and developing new ways to grow a veteran business in an increasingly unforgiving sector, new Hudson’s Bay Co. chief executive Helena Foulkes has her work cut out for her.
Foulkes, a former executive with U. S. drugstore giant CVS, will fill the void left at HBC after the abrupt departure last fall of veteran retail executive Jerry Storch, who made a return to his consulting firm after close to three years at the department store retailer’s helm.
According to reports, Storch’s vision for the retailer clashed with that of governor and chairman Richard Baker, who assumed the CEO role on an interim basis after the former CEO’s departure in November.
“HBC has an amazing portfolio of retail banners, valuable real estate and an innovative approach to M&A that give it the ability to win,” Foulkes said in a statement on Monday. “The future of retail will be defined by companies that think creatively about where the consumer and the world are headed.”
She was not available for further comment.
“Helena is a transformational leader who will invigorate the business with a new perspective as we position HBC for the future,” Baker said in a statement. “Throughout her 25 year tenure in retail, she has a proven track record of making bold, strategic choices that, at their core, put the customer first and have proven enormously impactful to business success.”
In her new role, Foulkes, 53, will be leading Hudson Bay’s global strategy and operations, overseeing more than 66,000 associates worldwide across more than 480 stores, related e- commerce platforms, supply chain, logistics and technology.
At No. 12 on Fortune’s 2017 Most Powerful Women list, Foulkes was most recently executive vice- president of CVS Health and president of CVS Pharmacy, in charge of overall retail strategy and operations at 9,700 retail stores, 20 distribution centres and e-commerce sites, as well as merchandising, supply chain, marketing and real estate. Prior to joining CVS in 1992, Foulkes, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and luxury retailer Tiffany & Co.
She was known for boosting the profile of CVS as a proponent of healthy living, spearheading the drive to take tobacco products off its shelves in 2014 and overhauling the retailer’s frontof- store business with an improved selection of beauty products and digital initiatives.
Toronto- based HBC, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Home Outfitters, has seen its shares fall about 11 per cent this year after issui ng disappointing thirdquarter results in December. It faces continued pressure from shareholder Land and Buildings Investment Management to divest more of its real estate, sell its lagging European department store business or go private. The stock fell 2.4 per cent Monday to $10.10 per share.