Mothercare CEO shock resignation

Mark Newton-Jones abruptly resigned from the position of CEO of Mothercare this morning as the embattled retail chain seeks to stabilise.

The firm announced the appointment of David Wood as CEO with immediate effect, but the news of Newton-Jones’ departure caused the group’s share price to fall 2.3% in morning trading.

Wood was previously group president of Kmart Holding Corp, a $3bn (£2.1bn) US grocery retail and pharmaceutical business, where he transformed restored what was an ailing business to sustainable profit growth.

Prior to this, he held a number of senior commercial, marketing and general management positions at Tesco where he achieved similar results in the UK and internationally. He will join the Mothercare board as an executive director.

Alan Parker, chairman of Mothercare’s board, said: “Mothercare is a great brand with a great future but it is facing a number of challenges, not least a highly competitive retail environment. We have made positive progress but it is essential that we have the most effective leadership in place to meet our ambitions for our customers and our shareholders.

“David has a great track record in similar circumstances across international and consumer facing brands and is a highly effective operator of retail operations. I look forward to working with him and the team.”

Wood added: “I am delighted to be leading Mothercare, a business with a fantastic heritage and an exciting future both in the UK and internationally. My immediate focus is to ensure Mothercare is put back on a sound financial footing and deliver a successful plan to improve performance.”