CEO turnover in retail includes Academy, Lowe’s, JCPenney

After somewhat mixed earnings among some of the nation’s largest retailers, there were some changes in the C-suite this week, which analysts say isn’t a surprise given the pressure many are feeling from e-commerce leader Amazon.

Fayetteville native J.K. Symancyk was named the new CEO of Petsmart, leaving the same post at Academy Sports + Outdoors, a position he had held for the past two years. Academy named Ken C. Hicks as chairman and CEO to replace Symancyk. Hicks is a Houston native and formerly ran Foot Locker.

JCPenney also announced CEO Marvin Ellison is exiting the company following a $69 million loss in the recent quarter. Ellison has been trying to lead a turnaround at the department store chain since 2014, and had some moderate success in 2015 but sales have struggled the past couple of years. Management said the board will conduct a search for a new CEO with four executives sharing the duties until a new hire is made.

Ellison is slated to take over as Lowe’s CEO on July 2 as Robert Niblock intends to retire. Ellison formerly worked at Home Depot for 12 years before joining JCPenney. Lowe’s business is also under pressure despite decent earnings of $1.19 per share in the recent quarter. Analysts say Lowe’s is behind Home Depot in online sales penetration, and Ellison is seen as a leader with extensive experience in omnichannel, an area the home improvement store admits it needs to expand.