PZ Cussons has appointed business transformation expert Jan Bramall as its chief financial officer and board member. She joins in March as the UK-listed personal care specialist embarks a new direction following a strategic review earlier this year.
St Tropez
Cussons said Bramall was chosen for her extensive experience in senior finance and strategy roles in international businesses that includes both construction and travel.
She’s currently interim CFO at Severfield and before that was head of finance for Manchester Airports Group for more than five years, “playing a key role in delivering major transformation projects”.
Bramall will succeed Sarah Pollard who’s leaving PZ Cussons to take up an unknown new role.
CEO Jonathan Myers said: “[Bramall] is a seasoned CFO with a strong track record of achievement across a variety of industries. Jan will arrive at a pivotal moment following our strategic review and I look forward to working closely with her as we continue to drive the next phase of PZ Cussons’ growth. The board is confident that she will make a very significant contribution to the leadership of the business, helping to deliver improved profitability.”
Part of that review was the decision not to sell one of its star brand, skincare/sun protection/self-tan range St Tropez, which now becomes part of “a new strategic direction” for the business.
The wider review comes after a “challenging performance”, that saw “revenue declining in FY25 in the US and a wider contraction of valuation multiples across the Beauty category”.
Part of the new strategy sees the formation of “a focused team to lead the St Tropez brand across the group’s international footprint. This team will be incentivised against the identified value drivers of the business: winning in-market execution including digital activation, re-igniting innovation and rejuvenating the brand’s equity”.
It added that a “critical component of the plan includes the formation of a strategic partnership with The Emerson Group…. a leading, US-based partner to brand owners”.
Saks Global Enterprises, facing limited options ahead of a more than $100 million debt payment due at the end of this month, is considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a last resort, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Saks Fifth Avenue
The company is also weighing additional ways to shore up liquidity, including raising emergency financing or selling assets, the people said, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Separately, some Saks lenders have held confidential talks in recent days to assess the company’s cash needs, according to other people familiar with the matter. Those discussions have focused on a potential debtor-in-possession loan, a form of bankruptcy funding.
Saks raised billions of dollars from bond investors late last year to finance a bold turnaround plan centered on the acquisition of Neiman Marcus, betting that scale would revive the struggling luxury retailer. Instead, the deal deepened the company’s debt burden and failed to resolve long-running issues with vendors, many of whom halted shipments amid missed payments, accelerating losses.
In June, Saks persuaded creditors to provide hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of a debt deal that reshuffled repayment priorities, creating multiple tiers of bondholders with differing claims on the company’s assets. Even those securities have since plunged, underscoring concern among investors that the turnaround effort is running out of time.
“Together with our key financial stakeholders, we are exploring all potential paths to secure a strong and stable future for Saks Global and advance our transformation while delivering exceptional products, elevated experiences and personalized service to our customers,” a representative for Saks said via email. PJT Partners, which is advising the company, declined to comment.
The tie-up with Neiman last year was intended to create a multibrand luxury giant powered by the technology of new high-profile investors, which included Amazon.com Inc. and Salesforce Inc. But by May, bondholders were already facing paper losses of more than $1 billion as the plan stumbled.
Following the restructuring, Saks in October cut its full-year guidance after reporting declining sales tied to inventory management challenges, as it continued to delay payments to some vendors to conserve cash.
Saks faces interest payments of more than $100 million due Dec. 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The $941 million portion of Saks’ second-out notes restructured in August traded at about 7.5 cents on the dollar on Monday, down from roughly 36 cents two weeks earlier, according to Trace pricing. About $762 million of more senior debt was quoted at around 48 cents.
The fashion platform, promoted by the Department of Business and Labour through the Catalan Government’s Trade, Crafts and Fashion Consortium, announced the move on Monday. With this change of setting, 080 Barcelona Fashion “kicks off a new chapter” that strengthens “the link between fashion and the city, with the sea as a global connector,” it said in a statement.
After years cementing its role as a showcase for emerging talent and with a clear and growing international outlook, 080 Barcelona Fashion aims to open up further to the city and position itself as “a megaphone for creativity.”
“This boost consolidates Catalonia and Barcelona as leaders in the fashion world, reinforcing their role as a creative and innovative hub, and with a clear international outlook,” the platform emphasised in a statement.
Its current director, Marta Coca, outlined the essence of the new location in October: “We want a completely different style to the recent editions, where modernism has taken centre stage. We are looking for a location that, while different, also defines Barcelona.”
The 37th edition of the event will look out to the sea from one of the city’s icons and attractions. The cycle beginning in April is aligned with the “Fashion Plan 2025-2030” promoted by Barcelona City Council, which made its debut as an investor in the event last October with a contribution of €150,000 (from a total budget of €2.15 million). The plan aims to “integrate fashion into the cultural, creative and economic map of the city and position Barcelona as a fashion capital.”
At its most recent edition at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, 080 Barcelona Fashion welcomed more than 11,000 attendees and featured 24 brands, including labels such as Moisés Nieto, Acromatyx, Guillermina Baeza, Custo Barcelona and Carlota Barrera. It was an edition marked by new formats and synergies with public and private platforms in the sector.
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Prominent figures on Brazil’s right wing are calling for a boycott of Havaianas, the iconic Brazilian flip-flop sandals, over an ad seen as taking sides ahead of next year’s presidential elections.
AFP
In a video posted on the brand’s social media accounts, actress Fernanda Torres urges the public “not to start 2026 on the right foot,” but “on both feet.”
Torres, a supporter of the Brazilian left, was the lead actress in the Brazilian film “Ainda Estou Aqui” (“I’m Still Here”), which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year.
The advertisement has sparked outrage in conservative circles.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the sons of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro — who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup after losing the last election — took to Instagram on Sunday to register his disgust.
In a video, he throws a pair of the flip-flops, recognizable from their straps adorned with the Brazilian flag, into the trash.
“Havaianas used to be a national symbol. I’ve seen many foreigners wearing this Brazilian flag on their feet… but I’m sorry, I’m going to throw these flip-flops in the trash,” says the US-based, former Brazilian lawmaker.
Conservative congressman Rodrigo Valadares posted on X: “Havaianas has chosen its side. The RIGHT has opted for a boycott.”
“My feet are burning on the asphalt, but Havaianas, never again,” right-wing influencer Thiago Asmar posted Monday on Instagram, where he has more than two million followers.
Havaianas are among the world’s best-selling sandals. The Alpargatas group, which owns the brand, employs 10,000 people and sold 226.6 million pairs of flip-flops in 2024, mostly in Brazil, according to its LinkedIn page.
The company has not responded to AFP requests for comment.
Left-wing congresswoman Duda Salabert denounced the reactions from the right as “idiotic attacks,” saying calls for a boycott threatens jobs in Minas Gerais, the southeastern state she represents, where one of the brand’s factories is located.
Torres won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for “I’m Still Here,” which recounts the years of the military dictatorship in Brazil, a period often evoked with nostalgia by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
South America’s largest nation is set to hold general elections in October 2026. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in 2022, has said he plans to run for a fourth term.