Littlewoods owner Very is fueling IPO speculation as he names the ex-Walmart manager as chairman

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The ery Group has fueled speculation that it is preparing for its IPO by appointing a former senior Walmart executive as its new chairman.

Dirk Van den Berghe previously helped run Walmart’s operations in Canada, China, India and Japan and oversaw global sourcing for the retail giant. Van den Berghe said it was “a privilege” to join the Very Board as chairman.

His appointment will fuel speculation that Very Group, which includes Very.co.uk and Littlewoods, is preparing for an IPO. Reports over the summer suggested the company had sounded banks to work on a possible listing.

In a statement, CEO Henry Birch said Van den Berghe was “the perfect person to lead our board of directors and assist with strategic options we are considering,” but he downplayed stock market speculation when he got straight to the point .

“That doesn’t mean it’s a precursor to a change in our capital structure or some type of corporate activity, but something we’ve wanted to do for a while,” he told the Standard. “Our position remains the same: as a company that is doing well, in a position of strength, we will continue to examine options. No decision what we could do, maybe we will stay the way we are. “

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Any listing or sale would trigger a payday for the billion dollar Barclay twins who own the business. A spokesman for the Barclay family said Van den Berghe “has unmatched leadership experience in the digital retail and payments industries and his appointment represents a commitment to the company’s long-term success.”

The news of the appointment came along with a Christmas trading update. Very, which has annual sales of £ 2.3 billion, posted sales growth of 22% in the seven weeks ended December 24th.

Very sells everything from clothing to electronics. The retailer was fueled by strong game console sales ahead of Christmas and benefited from a “real fashion resurgence” as people “want to look and feel good,” Birch said. Sales of beauty and wellness products also rose by leaps and bounds.

Retailers are preparing for spending pressures this year amid rising inflation, but Birch said Very is well positioned to overcome the tightening of the belt.

“We allow our customers to distribute the cost of what they buy by offering credit,” he said. “In the last financial crisis of 2008/2009, we actually did very well. We assume that our model will shine even more with customers in the course of 2022. “