What: In the US, many retail companies are increasingly struggling to find their new CEOs.

Why it is important: The issues are at the same time contextual and structural, and could end up in being a true challenge for the industry in case they are not addressed.

Many retail companies in the US are now operating without a CEO (Gap, Diesel…) as filling in those positions is increasingly difficult. 11 of the 91 US Fortune 100 retail companies saw their CEO leave in 2022. This is all the more challenging because the current context (inflation, pricing issues, consumer angst) requires strong leadership in order to stand out from the crowd.

In addition, many analysts also point out that the nature of the CEO job also changed in the past few years, as they had to adapt to many challenges (e-commerce development, global supply chain steering, investments in emerging technologies), after decades of being expected to “simply” be expert sellers.

The way to attract talent has also changed. For years, it was all about junior recruits climbing the ranks step by step. However, now, it is increasingly difficult to convince young talent to join and enter such programs (instead for instance of creating their own companies). In addition, said programs have to adapt by proposing relevant experiences (e-commerce department, discounting division for instance). Associations such as the NRF also play a more prominent role than in the past to promote the image of the retail industry.

As a consequence, many CEOs are now coming from outside the industry: the RealReal CEO comes from a tire company, or the Under Armour CEO from Marriott International, for instance. Other companies also decide not to have a CEO position and break it down into more digestible pieces, such as Pacsun naming two co-chiefs.

The whole situation, if not addressed, could soon add up to the woes currently experienced by the retail industry in the US.

The retail CEO pipeline is running dry