Are retailers' boards in need of new blood?
SA directors tend to be older than average, which may explain the retail slump
The average age of the 12 board members of the world's second-largest fashion retailer, Sweden's H&M, is 52. That's younger than the average age of board members of most of South Africa's retailing behemoths; the average age of board members at fashion house Truworths is 61. And maybe one of the reasons for the underperformance of the country's older players. In the two years that H&M has been in South Africa, the retailer has opened 12 stores. Through its innovative strategies and by embracing the latest trends of its fashion-conscious consumer base, the retailer has eaten into the market share of leaders such as Mr Price and Edcon, owner of Edgars and Jet. From being the perennial outperformers on the local bourse in recent years, retailers have buckled under the pressure of a struggling domestic economy and increased competition that has seen many of the world's leading fashion houses raising their flags abroad. Over the past three years, the JSE retailers index has sunk 18%, com...
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