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European coffee group JDE Peet’s is replacing its two top executives as controlling shareholder JAB Holding seeks to shake-up the owner of L’Or, Kenco and Douwe Egberts following a long period of underperformance.
The Dutch-listed company, which has market value of €10.3bn, is turning to former Marks and Spencer chief executive Luc Vandevelde to be chair and interim chief executive, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vandevelde, 73, is presently a director at the company and will replace chief executive Fabien Simon at the start of April on an interim basis and lead a search for a new CEO. He will also replace Olivier Goudet, chair of JDE Peet’s in late May on a permanent basis. Goudet will remain a JDE Peet’s director.
The changes are expected to be confirmed later on Friday.
The overhaul marks the latest big change inside the empire of JAB, the European investment group best known for its ownership of Pret A Manger, Coty and Krispy Kreme.
In November, JAB made a surprise announcement that Goudet, 59, was standing down as chief executive and would be replaced by Joachim Creus, a 47-year-old lawyer who has been with the group since 2010.
Goudet, a prolific dealmaker who joined JAB from Mars over a decade ago, was instrumental in building up the group’s presence in the coffee category through a deal spree that led to the creation of JDE Peet’s.
JAB and its affiliates remain the largest shareholders in JDE Peet’s with around 60 per cent of its shares. JDE Peet’s raised €2.25bn in May 2020 from a listing of its shares in Amsterdam at a price of €31.50.
The company’s initial public offering took place during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw consumers stock up on household consumer goods like coffee. Simon was chief financial officer of JAB at the time and took over as JDE Peet’s chief executive later in 2020.
Since then, JDE Peet’s has struggled to deal with rising input costs and inflation. Its share price has gradually traded lower and closed on Friday at €21.06, down roughly a third from its initial public offering.
Analysts who cover the stock have a poor outlook on the company, with 23 per cent of those tracked by Bloomberg providing a “sell” rating while 70 per cent have rated it “hold”.
JAB has made other executive changes in its portfolio companies over the past year, including at doughnut maker Krispy Kreme and fast-casual bakery chain Panera Bread.
JDE Peet’s and JAB declined to comment.
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