DavidsTea CEO Sylvain Toutant steps down

DavidsTea says chief executive officer Sylvain Toutant is leaving the Montreal-based company to pursue other interests.

Toutant says the decision to leave the Montreal-based specialty retailer was difficult to make but the right one from a personal standpoint.

The joint statement from him and DavidsTea didn't disclose Toutant's specific plans.

As chief executive officer, Toutant played a key role in the company's 2015 initial public offering, which marked the beginning of a significant growth phase in the United States.

At the time, DavidsTea said it planned to open between 30 and 40 stores a year in the United States to reach about 300.

DavidsTea had a total of 208 stores in Canada and the United States as of July 30, at the end of the second quarter of its 2016-17 financial year.

For the first half of the current financial year, sales were $85.5 million—up 25 per cent from a year earlier—and the company was close to break-even. In the first half of last financial year, it had a $145.3-million loss due to IPO costs.

The company says Toutant will stay with the company until the end of the current fiscal year, ending in January. At the same time, he'll also cease to be a director.