Debenhams finance boss Simon Herrick has resigned just days after the department store chain's shock profits warning following disappointing Christmas trading.
Mr Herrick has stepped down from his post as chief financial officer with immediate effect, but will not leave the company formally until February 7.
There was no reason given for his departure, but the move comes after Debenhams warned on Tuesday that profits were expected to fall by as much as 26% due to its failure to entice a rush of shoppers in the days leading up to Christmas, sparking a 12% shares slide.
It also follows reports last week that Mr Herrick's position at the group was under pressure amid shareholder concern over his performance.
He has been criticised over a so-called "Santa tax" letter hitting suppliers with demands for discounts days before Christmas.
Investors are also said to have been angered by guidance provided to analysts this year, with the City caught off guard by an earlier profits warning in March and unexpected costs revealed when full-year results were announced in October.
Debenhams said it had begun a search to find Mr Herrick's replacement, with finance director Neil Kennedy taking on the role on an interim basis.
Mr Herrick will continue to be paid salary and benefits worth nearly £490,000 over a 12-month notice period, with up to £12,000 on top to cover legal fees.
Debenhams said earlier this week that half-year pre-tax profits were expected to fall to around £85 million from £114.7 million the year before, after discounting ate into a dismal 0.1% like-for-like sales increase for the 17 weeks to December 28.
The hoped-for sales surge in the last week before Christmas failed to materialise and the group said it would have to resort to more discounting in January and February to clear stock.
It was the group's second profits warning in less than a year, with poor trading at the start of 2013 seeing profits fall 2.7% to £154 million for the 12 months to August 31.
But Debenhams chief executive Michael Sharp insisted on Tuesday the chain was battling against an "extremely difficult environment" that led many retailers to slash prices in the festive run up.
The group also blamed bad weather for having an impact on clothing sales, which fell over the 17-week period.
But rivals John Lewis and House of Fraser have reported buoyant trading over the period, which is likely to increase pressure on Mr Sharp.
John Lewis said like-for-like sales climbed 6.9% over the five weeks to December 28, while House of Fraser hailed its best ever Christmas with comparable store sales up 7.3%.
Mr Herrick's departure comes after just two years in the role.
Mr Sharp said: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Simon for his hard work and contribution over the past two years.
"We wish him well in the future."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article