Former stop-gap CEO becomes The Warehouse chairperson

Friday, 1 August 2025

Former interim chief executive John Journee was in the hot seat while the company attempted a radical makeover, which continues.

Interim Warehouse Group CEO John Journee, who steps back from heading the company today, will become chairperson of its board from November.

The iconic retailer announced the appointment this morning to the NZX. It takes place at the end of the three-year notice given by current chairperson Dame Joan Withers back in 2022.

Journee will assume the role at the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on November 28. He served as interim group chief executive officer from May 2024 until today, when Mark Stirton, who’s been the company’s chief financial officer since April 2024, takes over.

Journee will return to the board as a non-executive director until he ascends to the chairperson role. He has served on the company’s board since 2013 and was previously CEO of Noel Leeming, as well as serving the The Warehouse Group in various leadership roles over 15 years.

The Warehouse has been in a fight for its life against the likes of Kmart.

The soon-to-be chairperson told The Post in March that he’d ruled himself out of being the permanent CEO. But he had stepped into the position over a pivotal time for the business in which its decline became problematic and a turnaround in operating model, strategy and cost structure had to be undertaken so the Warehouse could survive against lower-cost competitors including Kmart.

That work is not yet finished.

“There is much work to do at pace to deliver long-term value to shareholders, and I look forward to continuing to support this work to build a stronger business,” Journee said.

Withers said Journee’s appointment as chairperson ensured strong continuity of leadership “as the Group enters its next phase of transformation and growth.“

Withers was herself thanked for her “exceptional leadership and governance” as chairperson since 2016.

“Over that time the business has transformed and navigated significant economic uncertainty, disruption and market pressure. Dame Joan’s decisive leadership and unwavering support has been instrumental in getting the business back on the right track ahead of her departure,” said Journee.

Withers said while the company had enjoyed periods of profitable growth, it had also faced substantial challenges.

Warehouse Group chair Joan Withers gave three years notice of her intention to step down as The Warehouse chairperson.

“It has been an extremely difficult last few years and I am deeply saddened that shareholders have been profoundly impacted as we have navigated the wider economic environment and had to pivot away from some of the strategic choices that the Group embarked upon.”

In December The Post took concerns of some shareholders to Withers, asking her whether, as some had suggested, she should leave her post earlier given the company’s woes.

Withers acknowledged concerns about whether The Warehouse needed a complete overhaul in leadership, calling the question “fair” for people to ask.

But she said the board had acted swiftly to make necessary changes ‒ and was confident that the group had the talent in place to execute a turnaround.

“We still get one and a half million Kiwis through our doors every single week,” she said at the time.

“What they need is excitement when they come in, and certainly in homeware and apparel we lost that. We're getting our mojo back up, and if you go into stores now you see a difference immediately …We now have to excite people and engineer products that we can give them fabulous quality at a great price point. That's what we're focused on, and I am enormously optimistic about the future.”