Mountain Warehouse founder Mark Neale is stepping down as chief executive after almost three decades at the helm, however will take up the position of executive chairman.
Neale, who launched Mountain Warehouse in 1997, will hand over the chief executive role to long-serving executive Marcus Ward on 1 September.
Ward has been at Mountain Warehouse for almost 20 years, initially joining as finance director before taking on several senior positions. He has served as chief operating and financial officer since 2018.
The change will see Ward take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the retailer, while Neale focuses on its international expansion as well as growing surfwear brand Animal and US outdoor retailer Eastern Mountain Sports.
Neale told The Times he was “still too young to retire”, adding that Ward’s experience, judgement and understanding of the retailer’s customers and operations made him well placed to lead the business.
The news was revealed as Mountain Warehouse passes £500m in annual sales for the first time.
Turnover jumped 13.4 per cent to £509.2m in the year to 22 February, while operating profit climbed £13.9m to £47.6m. Mountain Warehouse is now targeting £1bn in revenue.
Mountain Warehouse, which employs more than 4,400 people across 434 stores worldwide, is continuing to bet heavily on physical retail despite wider pressures across the high street.
The business plans to open 60 stores during the current financial year across markets including the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
As part of the management changes, former Ikea and Marks & Spencer executive Marsha Smith will also join Mountain Warehouse as global retail director on 14 September to support its international growth.
The succession follows a deal last year that saw Neale and three other senior executives buy out private equity firm Inflexion’s near-20 per cent stake in Mountain Warehouse, backed by a group of lenders.
Neale said the retailer remained a strong believer in bricks-and-mortar stores, arguing that predictions of a permanent shift to online shopping following the pandemic had failed to materialise.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
