Baugur openly attacks retailer's refurbishment of stores
Chief executive of the Icelandic investment firm Baugur, Jon Asgeir Johannesson, has told the Woolworths' management to 'get their act together' in their bid to turn round the fortunes of the ailing stores.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he criticised plans to refurbish some of the 800 stores at a time when shopper numbers are down and sales on the slide.

"If they don't make big changes they could be in trouble," he told the paper.

It is thought that the arrival of a new chief executive, Richard North, former chief executive of Intercontinental Hotel Group, will reinvigorate the group, which has suffered at the hands of the supermarkets and their aggressive pricing strategies.

Results for the year ended February 3, 2007 showed pre-tax profits dropped from £43.7m in 2006 to £7.3m.