On Monday, Simon Calver takes control at Mothercare, where the wheels have come off the pram in the core UK market.

On Monday, Simon Calver takes control at Mothercare, where the wheels have come off the pram in the core UK market. Since Calver’s appointment in February, Mothercare chairman Alan Parker – whose role becomes non-executive again when the chief exec starts – has been busy preparing for the new arrival.

Earlier this month he revealed a raft of initiatives including cost-cutting and store closures. Those are concrete and sensible measures but will not restore the retailer’s fortunes alone. Like Chancellor George Osborne, Mothercare’s emphasis to date has been on imposing financial control in a crisis. Growth is another matter.

Growth is, of course, central to Mothercare’s strategy. Better service, range improvements, international expansion and an enhanced multichannel offer will all be part of it but, at present, are ambitions not reality. Calver’s expertise in etail, FMCG and consultancy mean he should bring operational and intellectual skills to the challenge.

Surely there are few customer groups with whom it should be possible to forge strong links as mothers. Their sense of community and common interest is evidenced by the emergence of Mumsnet and similar forums, which also highlight the online opportunity. Calver has the chance to restore Mothercare’s fortunes. But bringing up baby will probably take years, not months.

WHSmith story is still a page-turner

Bookseller and stationer WHSmith is often snidely characterised as boring, sustained primarily by cost-cutting. But last week’s results showed the retailer is taking advantage of growth opportunities too. There will be openings of Kobo e-readers shop-in-shops and the retailer is quietly building an international business of scale.

WHSmith unveiled 20 more international units last week, ranging from India to Fiji. It has adopted a cautious model, mainly franchising, which minimises risk. It looks as if the WHSmith retail story has a few chapters still to go.