Meet without the spice
Woolworths under the microscope
Bland AGM lets management off the hook on issues such as executive remuneration and a weak share price
Executives at fashion and food retail conglomerate Woolworths Holdings endured a fairly polite tête-à-tête with shareholders at its AGM this week — somewhat surprising since the company’s shares have shed more than a quarter of their value over three years. Woolies — which has operations in SA and Australasia — has long been regarded as the royal retail share on the JSE. The stocks’ recent fall from grace might easily have spurred a more uproarious engagement at the AGM.In fact, it was only at the very end of the AGM — dominated by questions around the sustainability report and remuneration — that a shareholder pitched a direct question around what executives were doing to restore the sagging Woolies share price. Woolies CEO Ian Moir reassured that everything possible was being done to restore the share price — but he cautioned that it was more difficult to compete in a fast-changing retail environment. "We want to build our business sustainably, and it will take time to get there. ...
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