WPP poaches Argos boss

thE Sainsbury’s executive who runs the grocer’s Argos business has been poached by advertising giant WPP.

in a further setback for the supermarket chain following the collapse of its planned takeover of Asda, John rogers is leaving after 14 years at the firm.

the 51-year-old, who has run Argos for the past three years, was seen as a frontrunner to succeed under-fire Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe.

But he will leave the company at the end of October and become chief financial officer at WPP on a package worth up to £2.5m a year. he could earn an extra £2.2m through long-term bonuses schemes, if targets are hit over five years.

he will also receive a proportion of the £4.2m in bonuses he could have received by staying at Sainsbury’s. rogers, who was paid £2.5m last year at Sainsbury’s, said: ‘Joining WPP was an opportunity impossible to resist.’

the departure of rogers comes as Coupe fights for his job following the collapse of his planned £12bn merger with rival Asda.

Last week he revealed his plan B to battle struggling sales – moving dozens of Argos stores into Sainsbury’s and opening new convenience stores.

Argos was bought by Sainsbury’s for £1.4bn when the takeover of home retail Group completed in September 2016.

russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘the exit of an obvious internal replacement for current chief executive Mike Coupe could suggest the latter is staying put for some time.’