Rania Llewellyn is out after nearly three years as chief executive of Laurentian Bank of Canada, her sudden departure coming less than a month after a strategic review failed to find a buyer for the chronically underperforming Montreal-based bank.
Shortly after the strategic review ended, the bank’s operations were shaken by a major IT outage that has not been fully resolved.
Llewellyn, who was recruited to Laurentian from Bank of Nova Scotia in 2020 with much fanfare, becoming the first woman to lead a major Canadian bank, has been succeeded as CEO by Éric Provost, an 11-year veteran of Laurentian who was most recently group head of personal and commercial banking. He has also joined the board of directors.
In a further shakeup, Michael Boychuk, former audit committee chair and reportedly a key player in the strategic review, has been appointed chair of the board following the resignation of director and chair Michael Mueller, who had been on the board since 2013.
“Éric is the right executive to lead the bank at this critical point in its evolution,” Boychuk said in an Oct. 2 statement, adding that Provost’s ascension was part of the bank’s formal succession planning process.
“We have experienced challenges recently and the board is confident that Éric will successfully focus the organization on our customer experience and operational effectiveness.”
Meny Grauman, a bank analyst at Scotia Capital Inc., said Llewellyn’s sudden departure Oct. 2 was a negative development for the bank.
Sources said Llewellyn was not pleased with the timing of the strategic review, which was acknowledged by the bank in July, just 18 months into her plan to transform the underperforming lender with a promise of “accelerated” growth by 2024.
One industry source familiar with the review said Llewellyn felt the initial rollout of her vision had been successful and she had not had sufficient time to make necessary changes to the bank’s culture and operations.
Llewellyn could not immediately be reached for comment.
Shares in Laurentian, which had already settled back down to around $30, where they traded before the strategic process was announced, fell further following the tech problems and word of Llewellyn’s departure. The stock was trading at $28.81 at midday on Oct. 2.
Laurentian has underperformed other Canadian banks, including those in Quebec, for years. Even before the shares tumbled in September when it was revealed that the strategic review had ended without a buyer, Laurentian’s stock had risen around 165 per cent since January of 1995 compared to an 1,800 per cent rise for shares of Royal Bank of Canada shares and a more than 2,000 per cent rise for National Bank of Canada stock. National Bank’s market capitalization of $34.4 billion in July dwarfed Laurentian’s of just $1.72 billion, which had sunk further to $1.25 billion by Oct. 2.
While there is much to do, Grauman said the immediate priority for Laurentian’s new CEO will be to address the impacts of a mainframe outage that occurred last week during regular maintenance.
A three-part action plan announced by the bank will include resolving any outstanding issues from the outage, better communicating progress with the bank’s clients, and launching a comprehensive review of the factors that led to the outage.
Laurentian has already announced that all service fees charged to clients for the month of September will be reversed, and that normal hours will be extended this week.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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