Sainsbury’s finance chief John Rogers to become boss of Home Retail

John Walden, the incumbent chief executive of Home Retail who led the transformation of Argos to make it a digital-first retailer, will step down.

Sainsbury’s acquisition of Argos, designed to create a food and general merchandise multichannel powerhouse, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Rogers, who will be based at Home Retail’s Milton Keynes head office, will remain on Sainsbury’s main board and the group operating board. He will continue to report to Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe.

Sainsbury’s said: ”John will have responsibility for combining Sainsbury’s non-food business with Argos, and for the delivery of the ongoing digital transformation and performance of Home Retail Group.”

Rogers, who has been Saisnsbury’s chief financial officer since 2010, said: ”The combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos is an exciting one for customers, colleagues and shareholders. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead and work with the talented teams at Home Retail Group and to develop the business further as one of the UK’s leading retailers.”

Mixed emotions

Walden, who originally joined Home Retail as managing director of Argos in 2012 said: “This impending transaction, together with the recent sale of the Homebase business, presents the opportunity for me to reassess the next stage in my career.

”I have huge affection for both Argos and the group, so it is with mixed emotions that I will be stepping down from my role to pursue new career opportunities once the acquisition completes.

 “I am tremendously proud of the scale of the transformation that we have delivered over the past four years. Since the introduction of the Argos transformation plan in 2012, with an ambition to reinvent the company as a digital retail leader, Argos has quickly built market-leading digital capabilities and a more innovative culture, and repositioned itself for an exciting future.

 “Working with my colleagues on this journey has been the highlight of my career.”

Rogers will be succeeded as Sainsbury’s chief financial officer on an interim basis by group finance director Ed Barker, who joined the grocer in 2008 from Burberry.