Grant O Brien and Woolworths

O Brien: Grant O'Brien has been the company CEO since 2011 and will stay on until a replacement is found, according to Nine News Australia. By replacing Mr O'Brien, Woolworths' board is admitting that its strategy to find growth in the face of new competition from German retailer Aldi has failed. Ross Greenwood The boss of Australia biggest retailer, Woolworths, has resigned today as the company said its third quarter sales were down and disappointing. In January Mr O'Brien replaced head of supermarkets Tjeerd Jegen after the Christmas sales were below expectation. The supermarket giant has struggled as rival Aldi has gained market share - and recently committed billion of dollars to create more discounted items in its supermarkets. The reason cited by O'Brien, at the time, was that Woolworths had not been aggressive enough with its pricing. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.