There are two ways to interpret boohoo’s announcement that Dan Finley will succeed John Lyttle as CEO of the struggling online fashion retailer.
On the same day that highly-rated Ruben Amorim was named as the new manager of beleaguered Manchester United, 41-year-old Finlay was the obvious choice to try and revive boohoo’s fortunes.
By all accounts he’s been ‘pulling up trees’ as CEO of Debenhams, which is part of the wider boohoo group.
However, the other way to interpret the move is it’s a huge poke in the eye for Mike Ashley as it comes less than a week after Frasers Group demanded that Ashley be made CEO.
Quick recap. Frasers Group is boohoo’s largest shareholder and last week the company released a bombshell open letter to the online fashion retailer.
It spoke of an ‘abysmal trading performance’ and said appointing Ashley as CEO was the ‘best solution to boohoo’s leadership crisis’.
It’s easy to see conspiracy theories where there are none, but boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani’s latest Instagram post will have done nothing to put a lid on the speculation.
It showed a group of performing street dancers and the message: ‘Stop, pause, dance & smile… IT’S A NEW DAY.’
The choice of backing music was ‘Good Times’ by the American disco band CHIC.
Now, on the one hand, Kamani could be celebrating the announcement that Finley has been appointed CEO of boohoo group.
An alternative theory is that he’s celebrating the news that Ruben Amorim has been named as the new manager of beleaguered Manchester United.
Whatever the reasons for the Instagram post, there’s no doubt that Kamani will be hoping the good times return to boohoo.
Much like Man Utd’s new manager Amorim, Finley has an impressive pedigree.
As well as being credited with transforming the fortunes of Debenhams, he spent a decade as group multi channel director at JD Sports, where he delivered unprecedented digital growth as JD Sports became a global multi-channel leader and entered the FTSE 100.
He joined boohoo group as CEO of Debenhams in January 2022, following the acquisition of the brand out of administration for £55m.
Under his leadership, the business has been transformed into Britain’s leading online department store with a GMV annual run rate of c.£800m.
People who know him say he can turn a brand into a marketplace and they’ll be hoping he does the same at boohoo.
Alistair McGeorge, Boohoo group deputy chairman, said: “The board of boohoo was unanimous in its decision to appoint Dan Finley as CEO. Dan is one of the outstanding leaders in a new generation of digital retailers.
“Dan and his team have successfully transformed Debenhams from a failed department store, creating a new business model that is a capital-light, stock-light, high-growth marketplace.
“Before Debenhams, Dan had a track record of phenomenal success in online retail during his 10 years at JD Sports. The board looks forward to working with him, as we continue the review of options to unlock and maximise shareholder value.”
For his part, Finley said: “I am excited at the opportunities I see ahead as I become CEO of boohoo group. We have brilliant brands and people, underpinned by best-in-class infrastructure.
“Under my leadership we have had great success with Debenhams and I look forward to exploring opportunities to extend this business model across the group.
“I will dedicate myself totally to working with my colleagues to unlock significant value for all shareholders.”
Writing on LinkedIn he said: “I’m ready to deliver for our customers, our partners, our investors and all our other stakeholders.
“We have all the foundations to reach new heights. Now, let’s drive the boohoo group on to the next chapter, stronger than ever.”
Outgoing CEO Lyttle will remain available to his successor to ‘ensure continuity’ through the change of leadership.
At the time of writing Frasers Group hadn’t responded to the announcement.
However Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, struck a cautious note in this assessment of the situation.
He wrote: “Overall, our concerns about Boohoo haven’t disappeared. With key customer metrics and profits trending in the wrong direction, major challenges lie ahead.
“This has been reflected in the group’s valuation, which has come down significantly over the last few years. With so much uncertainty ahead, investors should expect a bumpy ride.”
- Contact Chris Maguire here