Phil Hackney, chief operating officer at the fashion and homewares retailer Matalan, has confirmed he will leave the company after three years.

In a post on LinkedIn, Hackney said he was proud of the work he accomplished, including the transformation of Matalan’s systems and operational areas, and thanked former Matalan chief executives Jo Whitfield and Henrik Nordvall.

Prior to his role at Matalan, Hackney worked as chief operating officer at The Very Group for over six years. He has also held senior logistics positions at Pets at Home, as well as the TD Synnex predecessor company Tech Data, and Boots.

The retailer has not yet named Hackney’s successor.

Hackney is the second senior figure at Matalan to step down in as many months. In August, the retailer announced Nordvall would step down as chief executive after just six months in the role, with chairman Karl-Heinz Holland taking over as executive chair with immediate effect.

The sudden leadership shift comes just as Matalan’s financial position is starting to improve. It has faced challenging financial conditions in the past year but is slowly narrowing its losses, having reported a pre-tax loss of £55 million in the year to 28 February 2026, an 18 per cent improvement over its £67 million loss the year before.

It is currently engaged in a long-term transformation programme intended to boost its growth, with the firm having raised its capital expenditure by 171 per cent in the 2026 financial year to £46 million. In March, Matalan received £25m from core investors for its transformation, including the expansion of its product range and digital presence.

Matalan is also refreshing its stores, and in its year-end report stated that refreshed sites now outperform the wider estate by 12 per cent.

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