- Huw Hughes
-
|
Superdry released a statement on Monday urging its board to reject
co-founder Julian Dunkerton’s bid to return to its board, saying that the
move would be “strongly damaging” to the company.
Superdry’s board announced that they have received requests from
Dunkerton and James Holder, who together founded the company in 2003, to
hold a meeting to elect the two to the board as non-executive directors. A
final decision on the bid will be decided at a company meeting on 2
April.
In a statement released on Monday, Superdry strongly urged shareholders
to vote against Dunkerton, who remains the company’s biggest shareholder
with a stake of over 18 percent in the company, saying that his return
would be “extremely damaging to the company and its prospects.”
The company said that at his role as company’s brand and product
director – the same role he wants to return to – he “had prime executive
responsibility for the design direction, range selection and range build of
the Autumn/Winter 2018 range, which contributed to the company’s
underperformance in FY19, and which was representative of underlying issues
in the approach to product and innovation.”
Superdry fights off co-founder bid to return to board
The company said that its institutional shareholders had “voiced strong
support” for the current strategy and management team, adding that none of
them had indicated any support for Dunkerton’s return to the company.
Dunkerton, who abruptly left the firm in March last year, has been
public in his criticism of the way the company is being run since his
departure. Earlier this month, Dunkerton blasted Superdry following a
spate of profit warnings, calling its latest performance the “weakest” in
the company’s 34-year history, and a “damning indictment” of its “misguided
strategy.”
Last week, it was revealed that Superdry will be cutting over 100 jobs at its Cheltenham
headquarters as part of its cost-cutting plan. Though the exact
number is not yet clear, between 100 and 200 jobs are expected to be
lost.
The company announced last year that it was aiming to make cost-cutting
savings of at least 50 million pounds by 2020.
credit: superdry facebook>
