Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) in South Africa – the parent company of Australia’s Country Road Group – has announced that its group CEO, Roy Bagattini, will retire at the end of September 2026 after six years of leading the company.
This forms part of a long-planned leadership succession process for the food and fashion business, with Bagattini’s role being taken up by Sam Ngumeni, a long-time executive at WHL.
According to WHL, the South African group has materially strengthened its capital allocation disciplines under the stewardship of Bagattani and fundamentally enhanced its long-term growth and value creation prospects.
This included the divestment of David Jones, the deleveraging of the group’s balance sheet, increased investment in the company’s core South African assets, the acquisition of Absolute Pets, the launch of Woolworths Ventures and the group’s first-ever share buyback program.
He has also overseen the repositioning of the apparel businesses in both South Africa and Australia, which includes Country Road Group brands Politix, Trenery, Witchery, Mimco and its namesake brand, with some of these operating stores in South Africa, too.
“Leading Woolworths has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Bagattini said. “We have an exceptional team, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish together.
“I leave confident that Woolworths is well placed for the future and wish Sam and the leadership team well as they take on the exciting challenges of this next important chapter for Woolies.”
The board has expressed its sincere appreciation to Bagattini for his contribution and commitment to the group.
Ngumeni will take on the role of WHL group CEO from June 1 this year. Prior to his current role as CEO of food, Ngumeni was the group’s chief operating officer, covering retail, online, supply chain, IT, data and analytics, real estate and the Rest of Africa division.
WHL chairman Clive Thomson said Ngumeni has extensive experience across various roles and functions within the group and a proven ability to set clear strategic priorities and execute effectively against these.
“He is a principled and highly respected executive, able to inspire and empower leadership teams to deliver on key strategic and operational initiatives across our businesses,” Thomson said. “His deep institutional knowledge, commercial acumen, and strong capability to drive performance will be invaluable as the group further intensifies its execution in a rapidly evolving retail environment.”
To ensure continuity, Bagattini will step down as group CEO and executive director on May 31, 2026 and will work closely with Sam until his retirement.
“I am deeply honoured to be appointed as group CEO of this iconic company, and one which is held in such high regard,” Ngumeni said. “I feel a profound sense of responsibility in leading this business in the next phase of its growth trajectory, and am truly excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for us.”
This leadership changeover also comes as Country Road Group’s top-line movements improve, with total sales lifting 2.3 per cent in the first half of FY26. This came alongside a 100 basis point slip in its gross margin to 57.9 per cent, driven by higher promotional activity and deliberate initiatives to clear excess inventory.
Country Road Group CEO Steven Cook said the result reflected deliberate trading decisions made to protect the long-term health of the business and its brands in a highly promotional market.
“We made clear and disciplined choices that strengthened our inventory position, cleared older stock through our own channels, and stayed focused on quality of sales,” Cook said. “That puts us in a more resilient position as we move into the second half.”
Looking ahead to the second half, Country Road Group confirmed its goal is to remain focused on proactive in-season trading, inventory agility and cost control, while continuing to invest in initiatives that support long-term brand relevance and operational efficiency.
“Our focus is on staying responsive and executing well against clear priorities, in a market that continues to demand discipline and focus,” Cook said.