The Very Group, operator of multicategory digital retail giants Very and Littlewoods, has appointed former president and CEO of Walmart Japan Lionel Desclée as group CEO.
He will join the group on 19 September 2022, with current CEO Henry Birch stepping down on 24 September 2022 after four-and-a-half years in the role.
Desclée joins The Very Group from McKinsey & Company, where he is currently a senior advisor. He previously spent three years as president and CEO of Walmart in Japan, where he led a 35,000-strong team at Seiyu, the Japanese supermarket business with a significant food and non-food presence. Under Desclée’s stewardship, Seiyu accelerated its move into digital through a joint venture with online retailer Rakuten, secured record-breaking colleague engagement, grew customer satisfaction and increased market share.
Desclée is also a non-executive board member at both Tom & Co and BPost, the Belgian company responsible for the delivery of national and international mail, where he also chairs the company’s strategy committee. Originally from Belgium, Desclée is fluent in English, French and Dutch.
The Very Group broke the £2bn-sales mark for the first time in 2020 and, in 2021, delivered record revenue and EBITDA. Under previous CEO Birch’s stewardship the company has also implemented an extensive rebrand, launched its highly automated fulfilment centre in the East Midlands, making its AI-powered chatbot the most popular customer service channel, and successfully navigated the pandemic. The Very Group was named ‘Best Retailer of the Year’ (over £250m) and ‘Best Place to Work’ in the 2022 Retail Week Awards.
Desclée said: “I am delighted to be appointed CEO of The Very Group. I can’t wait to start working with the team to further strengthen the convenience, flexibility and value Very provides, whilst exploring new products and services to support our customers.”
