Tesco, John Lewis, Magnet and Calvin Klein Changes

Tesco and John Lewis Money

Tesco managing director of food Gordon Gafa will leave the business at the end of December after 15 years with the supermarket.

Gafa joined Tesco as a category sourcing manager and worked his way through a series of commercial and trading roles. He later moved to Booker before returning to Tesco and becoming managing director of food in 2025.

Tesco said he played an important role in building relationships with suppliers. No replacement has been announced. Commercial directors will now report directly to Tesco UK chief executive Ashwin Prasad.

The departure comes after a strong first half for Tesco, with sales growth, higher like-for-like food sales and an improved profit outlook.

At John Lewis Money, Charles Offord will join as director of financial services in November, subject to regulatory approval. He replaces James Mack, who is leaving to become chief financial officer at Yorkshire Building Society.

Offord brings more than 20 years of experience in financial services and will also sit on the John Lewis Finance board. The appointment comes as John Lewis Money continues to build on a new broker model for credit and insurance products.

Magnet strengthens store operations

Magnet has promoted James Cheetham to store operations director.

He will oversee showroom performance, store team development and the future direction of the retailer’s showroom network. Cheetham has more than 18 years of retail leadership experience and joined Magnet in 2024 before moving into senior store leadership roles.

The business has also strengthened store teams and introduced uncapped commission for kitchen designers ahead of the winter trading period.

Magnet said its consumer business has recently delivered double-digit like-for-like sales growth following a period of significant change.

The company believes Cheetham’s appointment comes at an important time as it enters its busiest trading period with a stronger offer and a clear plan for growth.

Calvin Klein and The Organic Pharmacy

Calvin Klein has appointed Ayub Mohamed as chief product officer from January.

Mohamed joins from Lacoste, where he led product teams covering design, merchandising and development. Earlier in his career he held senior positions at several international fashion brands.

At Calvin Klein, he will lead the global product organisation and report to global brand president David Savman. The business sees an opportunity to extend the brand across more categories and markets, with product strategy playing a key role.

The Organic Pharmacy has been bought back by founder Margo Marrone, who launched the business 24 years ago.

The company had been owned by the Ganassini family for the past decade. They will remain its distribution partner in Italy.

Marrone plans to refocus the brand on its original principles of health, detoxification and lifestyle, while continuing to promote the connection between skin health, wellbeing and healthy ageing.

What RHR thinks

We believe these moves show how much value retailers place on leaders who can deliver strong commercial results while also understanding what a brand stands for. Tesco’s decision to have commercial directors report directly to its UK chief executive shows how important supplier relationships and trading performance remain. Magnet’s focus on store leadership and designer incentives highlights the continued importance of physical showrooms when the customer experience is strong. We expect more retailers to promote leaders from within while also bringing in outside product and specialist expertise where brands need a sharper strategy. The return of The Organic Pharmacy’s founder also shows how valuable a strong founding purpose can be in health and beauty.

What this means for hiring. Senior commercial, trading and financial services roles are likely to stay important as Tesco and John Lewis Money reshape leadership teams. Store management and kitchen designer jobs are in focus at Magnet, while Calvin Klein’s product, merchandising and development functions gain greater attention under new leadership.