Conn’s CEO Chandra Holt Resigns as Retailer Faces 23% Drop in Revenue
After a little more than a year on the job, Chandra Holt has stepped down as president and CEO of furniture, appliance and electronics retailer Conn’s Home Plus.
The Texas company announced her departure in a Tuesday (Oct. 18) news release, saying former CEO Norman L. Miller will step in to take her place as interim president and CEO. Miller held that job for six years between 2015 and 2021.
Along with Holt’s resignation, Conn’s announced Tuesday that it “remains challenged by macroeconomic headwinds, which is impacting consumer spending and disproportionately affecting year-over-year sales.”
The company said it expects revenues for the fiscal year 2023 third quarter to decline by 21% to 23% and its operating margin for the quarter to be “negative mid-single digits.”
As PYMNTS noted in July, Holt’s first year with Conn’s was marked by challenges, as the company’s stock price had fallen 65% over the year.
Read more: Conn’s CEO Looks Beyond Current Headwinds, Sees ‘Payment Options for Everyone’
Speaking to PYMNTS then, she referred to the company’s “big, hairy, audacious goal” of transforming itself into a multibillion-dollar omnichannel business by 2025. Nevertheless, Conn’s has chosen a path that’s rooted in its 130-year history.
“When you think about our history at Conn’s it’s all about providing access to our financing and high-quality goods to people who couldn’t get the financing elsewhere,” she said at the time.
Last month, Holt told PYMNTS of the company’s decision to reintroduce layaway plans. Labor Day weekend saw Conn’s include its layaway offering in its advertising for the first time, bringing the company “one week of average sales each day from Saturday to Monday,” Holt said.
See more: Old-Fashioned Layaway Plans Find New Niche at Conn’s
“Around 80% of our customers take advantage of some kind of financing option when they are shopping at Conn’s, since they are often purchasing a high-ticket item like a refrigerator or couch,” she said.
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