Spanish retailer DIA has said that it has completed the 'first phase of its business transformation, with the establishment of a series of country chief executives reporting to executive chairman Stephan DuCharme.
DIA, which was near bankruptcy at the start of last year, said that 'significant progress' has been made in terms of re-establishing the group's core retail practices.
'Operational Transformation'
In a statement, the group said that 'operational and commercial transformation [is] well underway, driven by reinforced management teams, resulting in improved underlying Q1 2020 trading performance'.
It said that former Lidl chief executive Karl-Heinz Holland, who was appointed in May 2019 to lead the turnaround programme at the retailer, will step down in May of this year, with a new operating model now established.
DuCharme, who currently holds the position of non-executive chairman of DIA's board of directors, will be installed as executive chairman at the business, and provide 'strategic guidance' to its executive team.
DuCharme, a former CEO of Russia's X5 Retail Group, is a managing partner of L1 Retail, with led the initial investment in DIA in February 2019.
Commenting on his new role, as well as Holland's departure, he said, “On behalf of the board of directors and the whole DIA team, I would like to thank Karl-Heinz for his commitment to DIA and for successfully delivering the critical objectives of the first phase of DIA’s business transformation ahead of schedule. We will work closely together, as we have done since we joined the DIA team, to ensure a smooth handover in May.
“We will continue DIA’s commercial transformation, focused on the continued evolution of the value proposition into a modern proximity concept, an improved long-term franchisee model that values entrepreneurship and the acceleration of opportunities around e-commerce.”
Operational Structure
DIA's new operating model is based on a devolved country leadership structure, with profit and loss responsibility empowered to the chief executives of the various regional businesses.
These chief executives will in turn be 'strategically supported' by the group's corporate headquarters in Spain.
In terms of the new appointments, Ricardo Alvarez, a former EVP and COO at Lidl Spain and the US, will assume the role of DIA Spain, while Javier Lopez Calvet, a 35-year Carrefour executive, will be installed as CFO of the Spanish business.
Elsewhere, Marcelo Maia has been named executive chairman of DIA Brazil, with Enéas Pestana and Antonio Lima Neto installed on the DIA Brazil advisory board.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
