11th Mar 2019 08:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Superdry PLC on Monday blamed co-founder Julian Dunkerton for the fashion retailer's recent underperformance and said his return to the company would be "extremely damaging".
Earlier in March, Superdry co-founders Dunkerton and James Holder asked for a general meeting to get Dunkerton and Peter Williams appointed to its board. The two own around 29% of the FTSE 250 company.
Williams is currently non-executive chair of online fashion brand boohoo.com PLC.
The meeting, Superdry confirmed on Monday, will be held on April 2.
"The board unanimously believes Dunkerton's return to the company, in any capacity, would be extremely damaging to the company and its prospects," said Superdry.
Dunkerton, as brand & product director responsible for designing its autumn/winter range for 2018, has caused the retailer's underperformance in its current year ending April 28, Superdry said.
"Dunkerton has failed to accept any responsibility for the autumn/winter 2018 range, even going as far as to claim he had no involvement despite extensive and detailed evidence to the contrary," the company said.
In the financial half-year to October 27, pretax profit on an underlying basis halved to GBP12.9 million, with Superdry blaming product mix and its range as well as hot weather and a difficult consumer environment.
Dunkerton's return, Superdry continued, would be "extremely damaging", leading to a likely-to-fail business strategy. The company said none of its institutional shareholders have shown any support for Dunkerton's return.
Superdry also said Dunkerton and Holder's resolutions are not transparent, adding Dunkerton is seeking a non-executive position yet also wanting executive involvement in products, brands, and marketing.
Shares were 1.1% lower on Monday at a price of 516.35 pence each.
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