Holland & Barrett boss Tony Buffin to depart in reward dispute

It is thought that Steve Willett, a former group digital director of B&Q owner Kingfisher and chair of the DIY giant’s Screwfix business, will replace Buffin as chief executive of Holland & Barrett. Willett is a non-executive director at the health food specialist.

Sources told Retail Week that Buffin, who was named chief executive of Holland & Barrett in May 2019, is leaving after a failure to agree on a long-term incentive plan with the retailer’s owner, investor L1 Retail, which bought the business for almost £2bn in 2017.

Levels of reward based on performance are key to attracting talent in private equity deals. A source told Retail Week Buffin had become frustrated by the lack of agreement on a plan despite being in post for so long.

The highly regarded Buffin had previously worked for Boots, was chief executive of the Nectar loyalty scheme and most recently was chief operating officer of Travis Perkins. 

He was expected to take Holland & Barrett, which had achieved years of like-for-like sales growth and has 1,300 stores in 18 countries, to new heights by building on the retailer’s leading position in the health market. The retailer is thought to have traded well during the coronavirus pandemic.

One source told Retail Week: “Tony is good, a very bright guy, but ever since he’s been in there they’ve been trying to sort out the long-term incentive plan. They need to perform and the long-term incentive plan is aligned to that but they’ve still not agreed on it.”

Buffin was not contactable for comment. No comment was immediately available from L1 Retail.