Fenwick has made significant leadership additions to navigate challenging times and pursue growth.
- The retailer appointed Susan Gordon as Chief People Officer and Joseph Wright as Chief Trading Officer.
- These strategic hires aim to enhance Fenwick’s executive structure and commercial objectives.
- Fenwick’s new leaders bring extensive experience in retail and strategy development.
- Despite financial losses, Fenwick reports positive impacts from reinvestments and certain business areas.
Fenwick has made strategic appointments to its leadership team, anticipating an ‘exciting new period of growth’ despite facing declining sales and widening losses. Susan Gordon has been named as the new Chief People Officer, and Joseph Wright has taken up the role of Chief Trading Officer. The appointments are part of a broader effort to ‘strengthen the Fenwick executive structure’ and to enhance its commercial targets and omnichannel strategy.
Susan Gordon transitions to Fenwick from her former position as Chief People and Legal Officer at Hush. She has held numerous senior positions in human resources throughout her career, bringing a wealth of experience to her new role. Joseph Wright, previously the Channels Director at Ann Summers, also shares a rich history in retail, having worked with prominent names like Selfridges, Dobbies, and Cath Kidston.
These leadership changes come as Fenwick reports a challenging financial year. In its 2023 trading update, Fenwick revealed a pre-tax loss of £28.4 million, a stark contrast to a pre-tax profit of £57.1 million the previous year. The significant drop in profit is partly attributed to the previous year’s £97.5 million gain from the sale of its Bond Street store, classed as an ‘exceptional item.’
Operating losses also saw a slight increase from £39.1 million to £39.8 million, reflecting what has been described as a ‘challenging retail environment.’ Additionally, turnover decreased from £199.7 million in 2022 to £184.2 million in 2023. Despite these setbacks, Fenwick highlights a ‘positive impact’ from reinvestments following the Bond Street store sale, claiming it has ‘strengthened the Fenwick business model.’
There is optimism within certain departments at Fenwick, with a ‘strong performance’ noted in the food and beverage segment, experiencing single-digit growth. The expansion of Fenwick’s own-brand food range and initiatives like the Bistro Greggs pop-up and a partnership with Newcastle United are noted successes. Sian Westerman, Chair of Fenwick, commented on the appointments: ‘Susan will join Fenwick having worked with us in a consulting capacity over the past five years, and we are excited for her to bring her HR and legal experience to the role.’
She further added, ‘Joseph will arrive at Fenwick following a long career of retail experience, leading previous companies to deliver their operations and digital strategies. To have two such accomplished individuals join Fenwick, in addition to Nigel Blow, who will join in October as our new chief executive, is extremely exciting.’ Westerman expressed encouragement by the financial momentum gained from the investments following the Bond Street sale, indicating an expansion of the omnichannel approach both online and in-store.
Fenwick’s strategic leadership appointments and reinvestments are poised to drive growth despite the challenging retail environment.
