Loblaw Taps Trius to Succeed Leighton

JON SPRINGER

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Loblaw here on Thursday said that Vicente Trius would succeed Allan Leighton as president of the retailer later this year.

Trius, a native of Spain, is joining Loblaw from Carrefour, where he was a director and member of the retailer’s executive board. He formerly held several executive positions with Wal-Mart including vice president of international operations and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart in Brazil, Asia and South America.

Loblaw said Trius would join the company in the second half of the year, at which time Leighton will step down from the Loblaw board and resume his role as an advisor to Loblaw’s parent company, George Weston Ltd.

Loblaw made the announcement Thursday while reviewing fourth-quarter and 2010 fiscal year financial results. Quarterly sales fell by 2.1% to $7.1 billion and same-store sales declined 1.6%. Net earnings of $151 million declined 8.1%.

For the fiscal year Loblaw reported earnings of $681 million on sales of $31 billion. Sales improved by 0.9% and earning by 3.8% vs. 2009.