Dive Brief:

• Departing Qurate Retail Group CFO Jeffrey A. Davis will move to the top financial seat for discount retail firm Dollar Tree, the company announced in a Thursday release. Qurate, which owns and operates seven retail brands including Zulily and Cornerstone, announced Wednesday former SVP James Hathaway will serve as interim CFO for the company.
• The move comes approximately two months after Dollar Tree cleaned its executive house, announcing a series of executive departures on June 28 including that of current CFO Kevin Wampler upon the appointment of a successor. The announcement followed a strategic review by other top executives, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• “Jeff has many years of experience as a retail CFO and spent nearly a decade in executive leadership roles with one of the largest retailers,” Dollar Tree President and CEO Mike Witynski said Thursday of the appointment during the company’s second quarter earnings call.

Dive Insight:

Davis served as Qurate’s CFO for four years beginning October 2018, per the Thursday press release, and has served as a board member for healthcare and diagnostics firm LabCorp since December 2019. He has also held previous CFO roles for retailer JCPenney, restaurant company Darden — which includes chains such as Olive Garden and Longhorns Steakhouse — as well as for retail behemoth Walmart, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“I look forward to joining Dollar Tree at such a pivotal time in the Company’s journey. Dollar Tree has a long and unique history in value retail,” Davis said in a statement. “My team will be focused on supporting the company’s strategy development and execution, and delivering insights and action plans to support efficient operations and create shareholder value. The company has a strong balance sheet and a tremendous opportunity for growth.”

His predecessor, Wampler, has served as Dollar Tree’s CFO for 13 years beginning December 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will remain as an adviser to Dollar Tree until April 30, 2023 to ensure a smooth transition, per the Thursday announcement.

Wampler’s departure is the latest among a string of executive movements at the discount retailer following the June strategic review by its CEO Witynski and its Executive Chair Richard W. Dreiling.

The review came a few months after Dollar Tree reached a settlement with investment firm Mantle Ridge to restructure its board, according to a June 28 article by Reuters. Mantle Ridge, among other investors, pushed for a revitalized board and a review of the company’s business strategy beginning in December, citing then-lagging stock prices, Reuters reported. 

Per its Mantle Ridge settlement, the discount retailer added seven new directors including seating Dreiling — a former CEO and Chairman of rival Dollar General — as its executive chairman and adding Mantle Ridge founder Paul Hilal to its board as a vice chair.

“The refreshed team has been together for about a quarter, and we feel very confident in our ability to fix Family Dollar and materially improve its performance long term and in the process, create enormous value,” Dreiling said during the company’s second quarter earnings call on Aug. 25.

As part of the leadership changes announced in June, four top executives aside from Dollar Tree’s CFO — including the company’s chief legal officer, enterprise chief operating officer, chief strategy officer and chief information officer — departed the company June 27. Each executive received severance of continued base salary for 24 months among other benefits, according to the June 28 filing.

Wampler’s departure was not the result of “any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s financial reporting, policies or practices,” per the filing.

The company has moved to refill these and other executive positions in recent months, announcing the appointment of Howard Hughes Corporation and Yum! Brands alum Bobby Aflatooni as its CIO July 21.

“We are actively engaged in recruiting leaders to the organization with the right perspectives, experiences and skill sets to help transform our company,” Witynski said on Aug. 25, including reviewing candidates for its COO and general counsel positions.

Mantle Ridge has a 5.7% stake in Dollar Tree, according to a March 8 report by Bloomberg.

Dollar Tree, which includes both its name sake stores as well as Family Dollar, reported $6.77 billion in net sales for its second quarter Aug. 25, a 6.7% increase year-on-year — results which were broadly in line with analyst estimates of $6.79 billion. The company reported $1.60 per share, a penny over estimates.

It also narrowed its full-year guidance to $27.85 billion to $28.10 billion, compared to its previous range of $27.76 billion to $28.14 billion reported during Q1 2022. Stocks fell 10% Aug. 25 in morning trading.

The company’s second quarter results “reinforces the relevance of our brands for millions of households as they continue to face cost pressures across the board,” Witynski said Aug. 25.

The firm also took steps to close the pricing gap between its stores and competitors such as Dollar General, with the recent price investments placing the company “in a better competitive position on price than it has been for over a decade,” he said.

Dollar Tree declined to comment.