The chief executive of Empire Co Ltd.’s Sobeys Inc. grocery store chain will retire in the spring because of a health problem, the Canadian company said on Wednesday.
Sobeys has started looking for a successor for Bill McEwan, who has served as CEO of Canada’s No. 2 grocer since 2000. Mr. McEwan will stay until that process is complete, likely early in the company’s next fiscal year, which begins in May 2012.
“We will consider all suitable candidates and are fortunate to have very strong internal candidates,” Empire Chairman Rob Dexter said in a release.
Canadian grocers are facing tough competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is expanding its grocery offerings in Canada.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Reuters