Card Factory CEO announces departure

Card Factory has announced the departure of CEO, Karen Hubbard, after four years in the role.

During her time as CEO, Hubbard supported the transition of Card Factory from a recently listed company to an established plc.

Prior to joining the card retailer, Hubbard held senior positions at B&M Retail, and BP, most recently she held the position of executive director of store proposition at Asda.

Card Factory said it was an “appropriate time to transition to a new leadership” to support the next phase of the company’s “return to growth”.

Chairman, Paul Moody, will take on the role of executive chairman until a new CEO has been appointed and is in role.

Hubbard said: “I am incredibly proud to have led Card Factory over the past four years and to work with the exceptionally talented people that make Card Factory the great company that it is.  

“Together we have undertaken a significant transformation across the organisation to support its future success.  The refreshed strategy will provide a strong foundation for the future.”

She added: “I would like to thank all the colleagues across the business for their support throughout my leadership and wish the Company and colleagues every success in the future.”

Moody concluded: “The board would like to thank Karen for her important contribution to the company, made with passion and commitment, over the last four years. The Group has a strong customer proposition, the correct strategy for the next phase of development and a highly capable leadership team to deliver it.

“I will provide interim executive leadership, supported by Kris Lee and the executive team whilst we recruit Karen’s replacement.”

The news comes as Card Factory reported that its underlying profit before tax fell 11.8% to £67.2m for the year ended 31 January 2020. 

In the same period, like-for-like sales were down 0.5%, reflecting “weak” consumer confidence and a decline in high street footfall in the second half of the year.

Nonetheless, the group saw “record” sales across Valentine’s and Mother’s Day for the third consecutive year, while cardfactory.co.uk sales increased by 14.8%. In addition, since lockdown began, online trading at cardfactory.co.uk saw like-for-like sales rocket 302% and year-to-date sales surge 153%.