Departure of `GMS' ends an era at Sears

An era drew to a close at Sears, the Selfridges to Millets retail group, yesterday when Geoffrey Maitland Smith announced he was stepping down as chairman. After 25 years on the board including the past nine as chairman, he will be succeeded by S ir Bob Reid, whose contract as chairman of British Rail expires on 31 March.

Sir Bob, 60, was chairman and chief executive of Shell between 1985 and 1990. He will join Sears as chairman-designate at the beginning of April and succeed to the chair at the company's annual meeting at the end of June. The post will be part-time and he will spend two or three days a week with the company. His salary has not been disclosed.

The appointment seemed to underwhelm many in the City. The shares fell 1p to 108p. One analyst described Sir Bob as "a safe pair of hands" whose appointment would not signal a change of direction.

The general feeling in the City is that Mr Maitland Smith hung on too long. He acknowledged as much himself yesterday. "I've had a wonderful innings, but when a chap's done nearly 10 years it's probably a bit too much. Five to seven years is probably about right."

Mr Maitland Smith, 61, will base himself at Hammerson, the property company that owns Brent Cross, where he is chairman. He is also deputy chairman of Midland Bank and on the board of its parent company, HSBC.

Sears has had a rocky ride under Mr Maitland Smith's stewardship. Pre-tax profits of £555m in the boom year of 1988-89 turned into losses of £48m by 1993, when the recession gripped the high street. Some analysts consider one of his best moves was bringing in Liam Strong as chief executive from British Airways three years ago. Since then the group has been refocused and Sears posted profits of £138m last year.

Mr Maitland Smith, or GMS as he is known at Sears, has had a varied career. A former accountant with Thornton Baker (now Grant Thornton), he was personal financial adviser to Paul McCartney between 1965 and 1970.