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UK: Boohoo CEO to Step Down as Strategic Review Launched

Clouds form behind the London Eye in London, Britain, October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Clouds form behind the London Eye in London, Britain, October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
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UK: Boohoo CEO to Step Down as Strategic Review Launched

Clouds form behind the London Eye in London, Britain, October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Clouds form behind the London Eye in London, Britain, October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim

British online fashion retailer Boohoo said its CEO would step down as the group announced a review of its strategic options to try to improve performance after sales slumped.

The company, whose brands include boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, Debenhams and Karen Millen, said on Friday that John Lyttle had informed the board of his intention to stand down but would stay on whilst a successor is found.

The company, like UK peer ASOS, was a winner during the pandemic, which drove a boom in online shopping. It has struggled since, hurt by supply chain problems, higher product returns, competition from rivals such as Shein and subdued consumer demand. Boohoo shares are down 22% so far this year.

Boohoo also reported a 7% fall in first half sales by gross merchandise value (GMV) and said it has agreed a new 222 million pounds ($290 million) debt facility.

"The board strongly believes there is potential to unlock shareholder value and is exploring options to deliver on this," it said.

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Fashion

Giorgio Armani, 90, Says He Plans to Retire Within 'Two or Three Years'

FILE PHOTO: Designer Giorgio Armani appears at the end of his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for Giorgio Armani Prive in Paris, France, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Designer Giorgio Armani appears at the end of his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for Giorgio Armani Prive in Paris, France, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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Giorgio Armani, 90, Says He Plans to Retire Within 'Two or Three Years'

FILE PHOTO: Designer Giorgio Armani appears at the end of his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for Giorgio Armani Prive in Paris, France, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Designer Giorgio Armani appears at the end of his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 collection show for Giorgio Armani Prive in Paris, France, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Giorgio Armani, the founder of the eponymous Italian fashion brand, said in an interview published on Sunday that he plans to retire within the next two or three years.
Armani is 90 years old and has so far been tight-lipped about the succession plans for the company he founded in 1975 and still firmly controls.
"I can still give myself two or three years as head of the company. Not more, it would be negative," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Armani said he has restless nights in which he dreams of a future in which "I no longer have to be the one who says 'Yes' or 'No'."
He added he has received "slightly more insistent" approaches from potential outside investors in his company, "but for the moment I do not see any openings".
With no children to pass it on to, there has been speculation about the long-term future of Armani's empire and whether, in an industry dominated by luxury conglomerates such as LVMH and Kering, it will be able to maintain the independence he treasures.
In the interview with Corriere della Sera, Armani said he had "built a kind of structure, a project, a protocol" to govern his succession, without elaborating.
Last year, Reuters reported on a document held by a notary in Milan which sets out the future governing principles for those who will inherit the group, and on another that details issues including protecting jobs at the firm.
Armani's heirs are expected to include his sister, three other family members working in the company, long-term collaborator and partner Pantaleo Dell'Orco and a charitable foundation.