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Superdry Plunges as Co-Founder Returns, Top Management Quits

Superdry Co-Founder Wins Fight to Rejoin Board of U.K. Retailer

(Bloomberg) --

Superdry Plc shares plunged as its board and top management resigned following a shareholder vote to bring back co-founder Julian Dunkerton at the helm of the U.K. apparel retailer.

Chairman Peter Bamford, Chief Executive Officer Euan Sutherland and Chief Financial Officer Ed Barker will leave immediately, the company said Tuesday. Dunkerton will take over as interim CEO and join the board after leaving the company about a year ago. Superdry fell as much as 12 percent early Wednesday in London after dropping 8.8 percent Tuesday.

Superdry Plunges as Co-Founder Returns, Top Management Quits

The showdown at the U.K. retailer with the faux-Japanese logo followed months of tension between the departing management and Dunkerton, who criticized a decision to expand the retailer’s range beyond the coats and jackets it’s known for. He also launched a “Save Superdry” website, where he said the company was “devastated through a misguided strategy.”

Dunkerton holds an 18 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Since his departure, the shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value and the company has issued repeated profit warnings.

“The immediate impact of Julian’s return is likely to be additional costs as he rebalances the business and seeks to reinvigorate the product,” Peel Hunt analysts including John Stevenson said in a note. These costs “will be incurred before we see any top-line benefits.”

Product Lineup

The retailer, whose clothes are popular with millennials, has said the changes in its product offering were needed to boost sales after it blamed warmer weather over the fall and a lack of variety for its disappointing results. Advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended a vote against Dunkerton’s return, while some big investors favored the move.

Boardroom dramas are proliferating in U.K. retail as the sector struggles with a shift to online shopping and consumer jitters over Brexit. Billionaire Mike Ashley orchestrated the ouster of the chairman and CEO of Debenhams from the board in January, and he’s proposed removing most of the board and installing himself as chief.

Until recently, Superdry bucked the gloom, growing rapidly as young consumers snapped up its T-shirts and hoodies. The co-founder said last year that he was leaving to pursue other projects, following reports of the conflict over strategy.

The departure of the current leadership came after just more than half of shareholders voted for the appointment of Dunkerton as a non-executive director at the general meeting on Tuesday. The company’s brokers, UBS and Investec, also resigned.

Superdry directors Dennis Millard, Minnow Powell, Sarah Wood and John Smith have given three-months’ notice and will stand down in July, the company said in a statement. Penny Hughes, chairman of the board’s remuneration committee, is also leaving immediately.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ellen Milligan in London at emilligan11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, John Lauerman

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