From Gap to Dollar General, retail chiefs quit as challenges grow

Many US retailers are opting for new leadership or moving ahead with pandemic-delayed succession plans as the industry adapts to challenges beyond the Covid-19 health crisis.Many U.S. retailers are opting for new leadership or moving ahead with pandemic-delayed succession plans as the industry adapts to challenges beyond the Covid-19.

On Monday, Gap replaced Chief Executive Sonia Syngal after more than two years on the job. On Tuesday, Dollar General Corp. said its longtime CEO would step down. Those announcements follow recent exits of the CEOs at companies such as Bed Bath & Beyond, athletic-equipment merchant Under Armour and luxury-consignment seller The RealReal.

In the past, retail executives typically reached the top job through two paths: They were either great merchants, with a