High street giants Boots and House of Fraser are phasing out the IT director role following major infrastructure overhauls.

Experts say the financial burden of catching up with past underinvestment in technology may be to blame.

Boots IT director Rob Fraser left last week following the completion of a £300m integration project including new pharmacy systems, upgraded in-store technology and the restructure of the companyís outsourcing contracts. His responsibilities will now be shared by colleagues within the IT department.

House of Fraser will not replace IT director Frank Berridge after he retires this summer.

The changes are a response to investment patterns in the retail industry, says Freeform Dynamics analyst Martin Atherton.

'The sector's refresh cycle has seen many firms catching up on 15 years of underinvestment and they do not want to spend more on technology,' said Atherton.

The response is to keep down costs by sticking with existing IT and giving responsibility to the chief financial officer, he says.