The abrupt resignation of BJ's president and chief executive officer Mike Wedge last week has raised questions whether it signals a step toward a leveraged buyout of the club operator.
BJ's chairman and interim chief executive officer Herb Zarkin said the company is looking for fresh perspectives, and Bank of America analyst David Strasser, in a research note, pointed out that the announcement, and a 33 percent company-owned asset base, must add fuel to recent LBO speculation.
In a joint statement announcing the resignation, Zarkin and Wedge said, “While the company has made great strides in its efforts to improve general merchandise sales and customer traffic, overall progress has not come as quickly as we had hoped and expected. We agree that the company's leadership team will benefit from a fresh perspective at this time.”
Wedge, who became chief executive officer in September 2002 after five years as executive vice president of club operations, was something of a gradualist. He experimented with new merchandising ideas in a trio of Florida test clubs before rolling them out, as well as piloting a restaurant supply concept, dubbed ProFoods, by opening a pair of units in the New York area. Given that ProFoods arrived under the Wedge tenure, the concept's future also is likely to prompt speculation.
Zarkin, who had announced his intention to retire from the board of directors in May 2007, will stand for re-election at the company's annual meeting in May 2007.
