Retail Week ranks most influential retail leaders 2019

Retail Week’s ranking of the industry’s top 100 most influential individuals sees Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis top the 2019 Retail Week Retail 100 list.

Ranking the sector’s 100 most influential individuals, the Retail 100 celebrates leaders who are transforming retail, speaking out, innovating, making headlines and driving growth.

This year’s list, produced in association with ChannelAdvisor, Good Growth, Infor Retail and O2, sees Lewis take the top spot having overseen another stellar year for Britain’s biggest grocer.

Lewis has helped Tesco achieve a dramatic turnaround, from a 6.4bnl pound loss four years ago to pre-tax profit of 1.7bn pounds in the year to February 23, 2019, with group sales up 2.9 percent.

According to Retail Week, the role of traditional leaders – once hailed for their power, status and dominance – is no longer as important as it was. Today’s workforces demand leaders who inspire, who change the status quo and who put people at the heart of their businesses. And the Retail 100 reflects this evolution.

This 2019 list sees 29 new entries, encompassing more challenger brands and emerging retailers than ever before, and 18 female leaders are recognised, the highest number in the list’s history, with nine further women identified as ones to watch.

Comparatively, Arcadia boss Philip Green has become the list’s biggest faller, dropping 22 places on 2018 following a year of personal controversies and Arcadia’s ongoing financial woes.

In second place is Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, followed by Mike Ashley, Chief Executive and founder of Sports Direct. Primark's Chief Paul Marchant and Next Chief Executive Lord Simon Wolfson round out the top five.

The annual list is decided by Retail Week’s team of expert journalists who decide the rankings based on the headlines in 2019, whether or not the individual is a spokesperson for the retail industry, if their business is innovating the sector, financial performance, and volume of the retailer’s UK sales in comparison to group sales.

The highest placed woman is Paula Nickolds, Managing Director of John Lewis department store, who ranks at number 12. The highest new entry is Mark Parker, the Chief Executive at Nike, ranking 21st.

Article credit: the Retail Week Retail 100 2019 report