Superdry moves to fill boardroom seats after Dunkerton’s bruising battle

By Reuters On Jul 4, 2019

A woman walks past a window display at a Superdry store in London, Britain, March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

(Reuters) – Superdry (L:SDRY) has appointed former finance heads of M&S (L:MKS) and New Look to its board, months after the UK fashion retailer’s founder Julian Dunkerton rejoined after a bruising boardroom battle that saw most of its directors leave.

The company said Helen Weir will become senior independent director and Alastair Miller will be the chair of the audit committee.

“Since becoming Chairman in April it has been a priority of mine to restore the Board to full strength and these appointments are a big step in that direction,” said Chairman Peter Williams (NYSE:WMB).

Superdry had warned in May of a shortfall in annual profits after Dunkerton began aggressive moves to reform how the British fashion retailer was run.

It delayed the publication of annual results to July 10, blaming the “complexity” of reflecting one-time lease and store impairment charges, coupled with recent management changes.

Superdry is still looking for a permanent chief executive officer and two non-executive directors.

The company, whose trademark jackets, hooded tops and jogging bottoms are popular with young people, appointed retail industry veteran Nick Gresham as interim chief financial officer in May.