UK health and beauty retailer, Boots Group, today announced a long-awaited management shake-up, naming Richard Baker - an executive at supermarket chain Asda - as its new chief.
Current Chief Executive Steve Russell will leave the board at the end of May, the firm said, and Chairman John McGrath will take on the role of acting chief executive until the 40-year-old Baker takes the helm.
Baker is currently chief operating officer at Asda, the supermarket chain owned by the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores.
The 150-year-old firm, which is battling stiff competition from supermarkets, has tried everything from selling CDs to car parts in recent years in a bid to boost sales. But each experiment has flopped, leading the firm to say in December it was looking to replace Chief Executive Steve Russell.
The management overhaul comes amid criticism that Boots has failed to meet rising competition from the major supermarkets such as Tesco, which have been increasing their range of healthcare products.
The firm said in March annual profits would be at the low end of market expectations and it was cutting 700 jobs to refocus on its core health and beauty product business.
