Very promotes Retail Managing Director to CEO

Today, The Very Group announced that its CEO Lionel Desclée has stepped down to "pursue new opportunities". Robbie Feather, the group’s Retail Managing Director, has been named Desclée’s successor.

Feather, who joined the company back in 2021, will now make up the Company’s Board and lead its executive team. Previously, the executive led the company’s retail team, which included all category sourcing, buying, marketing and trading.

He has recently overseen the development of the company’s successful new brand platform and its market-beating retail performance, which saw Very UK H1 FY24 revenue grow by 2.7% year-on-year to over £1 billion.

Prior to this, he was the CEO of Fenwick, where he helped to turn around the company and modernise its customer proposition, including launching its online business. He previously held several roles at Argos.

Robbie Feather said: "I’m hugely excited to be appointed Group CEO of The Very Group. This is an outstanding business with a unique proposition, combining multicategory digital retail with flexible ways to pay. I look forward to working with our amazing Very team to delight our customers and continue to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders."

Robbie Feather, CEO at The Very Group

With this announcement, Lionel Desclée has chosen to step down as Group CEO.  Under his leadership, the company delivered robust results, including increasing H1 FY24 pre-exceptional EBITDA by 10.1% year on year to £130.7m.  The company also reached milestones in its tech transformation, such as migrating to cloud infrastructure, introducing AI-powered on-site search and partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft to accelerate generative AI innovation.

Lionel Desclée commented: "It has been a privilege to lead this innovative and committed team in delighting our customers. I am proud of our achievements and believe that under Robbie’s leadership, the company will continue to succeed."

Aidan Barclay, The Very Group’s Chairman, added: "Robbie has proven to be an outstanding retail leader, both at The Very Group and throughout his career. He understands our business intimately and has a strong track record of transformation and growth. He is the perfect person to lead the next stage of The Very Group’s development.

"On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Lionel for his strong, customer-focused leadership. We wish him the very best in his future endeavours."