TRUWORTHS International the 104-year-old fashion retailer paid its chief executive officer (CEO) of 30 years Michael Mark a total single figure remuneration of R44.34 million up from R17.3 million a year earlier as he enjoyed bumper long and short-term incentives, the group said in its 2021 integrated annual report released yesterday.
Mark, who announced his retirement last year is the longest-serving CEO of a JSE-listed company. He has been a Truworths employee since 1998 and was appointed on the board in 1991. According to the annual report Mark received R15 million in long-term incentives, R14.9 million in short-term cash incentives and his annual guaranteed pay remaining unchanged from last year at R9.95 million.
Chief financial officer (CFO) David Pfaff, who stepped down in February this year, received R11.4 million including a R4 million guaranteed pay cheque and R7.2 million in long-term incentives.
As part of the succession plan, Truworths promoted Sarah Proudfoot to the newly created position of deputy managing director in January 2021 while Emanuel Cristaudo was appointed as CFO in July 2021.
“Michael, Sarah and Emanuel are working closely in a consultative and collaborative relationship, and are increasingly involved in joint executive decision-making during this transitionary phase. The Nomination Committee is also focusing on longer-term succession,” said the group in the annual report.
In February 2021 seven new directors were appointed to the Truworths board and a new managing director was appointed at the UK- based office. After a career spanning 37 years with Truworths, merchandise director, Doug Dare, also retired from the group in May 2021.
According to the annual report Truworths employees received a 4 percent salary increase in 2021, the company said in its 2021 annual report. The group said management received a 3.7 percent increase while non-management employees received a 4.3 percent salary hike.
“Unionised employees, whose increases are subject to negotiation with the union, received a remuneration increase of 4 percent,” said the company. The company said owing to changes in business operations and trading patterns, 27 stores were closed, with no retrenchments, as all affected store employees were absorbed into nearby stores.
The Truworths International Group is one of the leading retailers in Africa with 793 stores across the continent and 98 Office stores and concessions in the UK, Germany and the Republic of Ireland. During the year ended June group retail sales increased by 0.5 percent to R17 billion.
Online sales accounted for 16 percent of the group’s retail sales, increasing by 30 percent over the last year. The group said Office again performed well off an established base to grow online sales by 18 percent to £121 million (R2.5 billion). Truworths’ e-commerce sales have more than doubled in the past year, growing by 127 percent to R260 million.
The group said 57 stores of the group’s South African portfolio of 758 stores were impacted directly and severely by looting and destruction of property. These stores would normally account for approximately 7 percent of the retail sales in the group’s South African store portfolio.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE