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Primark CEO Paul Marchant quits after behavioural ‘error of judgement’

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Primark was rocked on Monday as owner Associated British Foods said that the boss of the Anglo-Irish budget fashion, beauty and homewares retailer, Paul Marchant, has quit with immediate effect. This comes after an allegation made about his behaviour towards an individual in a social environment.

Photo, Sandra Halliday

It’s a big deal for both Primark and ABF with the retail chain contributing about half of the profits for its parent company and that strength seemingly set to expand as it rolls out more stores across Europe and the US.

The group, which is to release its next set of results — for the first half — late next month, said Eoin Tonge, ABF finance director, will act as Primark CEO on an interim basis. And Joana Edwards, ABF group financial controller, will step into his finance role for now. 

The company stressed that “both executives have the experience to perform these roles well”. Tonge has been at ABF since January 2023 and before that was at M&S, for almost three years, joining at CFO and becoming group CFO/chief strategy officer.

ABF had earlier launched an investigation that was carried out by external lawyers, into an allegation made by the unnamed individual about his behaviour towards her. Marchant “cooperated with the investigation, acknowledged his error of judgement and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF. He has made an apology to the individual concerned, the ABF board and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business”.

ABF CEO George Weston said: “I am immensely disappointed… we believe that high standards of integrity are essential. Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term. Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity. Our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual.”

It’s a major disaster for Marchant himself who’s led Primark for over a decade and seen it go from strength to strength, despite the interruption to its business during the pandemic. 

Before jointing the company in 2009, he was COO of New Look for three years and prior to that spent eight years as trading director of Debenhams so is clearly a fixture in the UK fashion industry.

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John Smedley promotes McGuire Dudley to MD, Maclean steps into chairman role

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British luxury heritage brand John Smedley is breaking tradition with its choice of a new managing director. With her background in the creative camp, Jess McGuire Dudley takes up the promotion to MD this month.

Previously deputy MD and global brand director, McGuire Dudley takes over from Smedley family member Ian Maclean. Having worked within the business for 25 years, he will now step into the executive chairman’s role.

McGuire Dudley, who joined the business in 2014 as head of marketing, has made “invaluable contributions to the business… giving John Smedley new relevance and increased presence within the luxury knitwear sphere”, it said on announcing her new post. 

That included recently overseeing product projects and manufacturing overhauls while being “pivotal in transforming the marketing and sales side of the business in recent years” and refreshing the brand’s image and “the many ways it is visible in markets around the world”.

That has helped the business enjoy double-digit increases in global sales across e-commerce (80%) and its retail stores (6%), as well as growing its physical retail footprint with two standalone stores in London, it said.

Looking ahead, Dudley’s appointment also coincides with a “renewed focus on strategically future-proofing John Smedley, both in manufacturing and in product design”, it added. 

“There is a real love between me and this business, and I am determined to ensure it thrives for decades to come,” she said. 

She added: “The commercial landscape is a challenge for a UK based manufacturing brand; traditional wholesale and retail continue to be tough, and the future has a lot of uncertain challenges, from US tariffs to tax increases. But it is a challenge we are up for facing, and we have plenty of new ideas to maintain John Smedley as ‘The World’s Finest Knitwear’.”

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Trussardi relaunches in ‘democratic luxury’ segment

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Nicola Mira

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April 2, 2025

Trussardi has unveiled its new face. The Italian label, acquired by Italian textile group Miroglio in March 2024, is turning over a new leaf with a first collection of evergreen clothes and accessories characterised by a sleek, elegant and functional style, inspired by the label’s archives and designed by a collective of diverse creative talents. Trussardi’s goal is to reposition itself in the more accessible progressive luxury segment, featuring contemporary luxury collections at “more democratic prices.”

A Trussardi womenswear look for Fall/Winter 2025-26 – Trussardi

Trussardi’s vast Fall/Winter 2025-26 men’s and women’s collection was recently presented at the label’s Milanese showroom. They consist of some 700 items, including 250 accessories, with pride of place going to leather clothes and accessories, historically the core of the Bergamo-based label’s output — Trussardi was founded in 1911 as a glove shop — but also including denim and sportswear.

Jeans are priced between €140 and €240, leather jackets at around €500, and leather goods and handbags from €250 to €500. The first sales campaign, which was recently completed, focused on Italy and Europe. The collection was marketed by about 15 agents, and has been bought by department stores like La Rinascente, and several multibrand retailers in the premium segment, notably in Eastern and Southern Europe. Trussardi, which is set to launch its e-shop in June, is also negotiating the opening of a number of stores internationally.

Soft leather is used to fashion tops, skirts, bomber jackets and handbags, while Trussardi’s iconic safari jackets feature in contemporary suede versions. The collection also includes a striking top-and-trousers set in denim-look suede.

“We have developed various models of leather gloves, to emphasise the connection with the label’s roots, and found inspiration for many other items in our archives. It’s an everyday wardrobe that we have created by also looking carefully at the way people dress in the street,” said Cosimo Dorato, Trussardi’s head of design and products, talking to FashionNetwork.com. Dorato oversees the collective efforts of 30 talented professionals, between designers, garment-makers, photographers and more, both in-house staff and external consultants.

The denim-effect ensemble in suede
The denim-effect ensemble in suede – Trussardi

To write Trussardi’s new chapter, the Miroglio group, which owns, among others, the Elena Mirò, Oltre, Motivi and Fiorella Rubino labels, decided to move away from the runway show format, and from the ritual of naming a creative director. The idea was to create a community around the label’s design collective, which has styled itself as ‘Gentle Society’. This slogan-manifesto is printed on a series of knitwear and sweaters alongside the label’s signature greyhound, which no longer features alone on the logo but is playfully entwined with another greyhound.

“We’re working on the concept of subtraction in a ‘less is more’ spirit, focusing on clean, timeless looks and lines, paying great attention to functionality, while at the same time infusing a delicately playful touch by means of little messages and hidden elements,” said Dorato, who has worked for seven years as a design executive for the Oakley eyewear label, after previous stints as head of Yoox’s own brand, and in product development at Alexander McQueen.

The collection’s tongue-in-cheek approach is evident in the key holder integrated into a jacket’s pocket, while some handbags’ shoulder straps have a dual use, the backpack, ergonomic and made in breathable material, is equipped with all kinds of pockets, and a top has straps so that it can be worn on the shoulders without actually putting it on.

Among the discreet details cropping up unexpectedly, inscriptions that are legible only when illuminated, and micro-patterns in the shape of a pair of gloves or a walking stick, surreptitiously printed between the stripes of a very classic shirt.

These are some of the graphic elements drawn from Trussardi’s vast archives, which have been transferred from Bergamo to Alba in Piedmont, where Miroglio is based. They include over 60,000 items, all the ready-to-wear and accessories developed in recent decades, from experimental items designed by Nicola Trussardi, who relaunched the label in the 1970s transforming it into a global brand, to items created, among others, by Milan Vukmirovic and Trussardi’s latest designers, Serhat Işık and Benjamin A Huseby. Plus of course all the lifestyle accessories.

The new collection at Trussardi’s Milanese showroom
The new collection at Trussardi’s Milanese showroom – ph DM

The strategy is for Trussardi to relaunch softly, introducing easy-to-wear products that are very much of their time, made in Europe and Asia in order to maintain an affordable price positioning. The relaunch will go hand in hand with a rather unusual communication strategy, chiefly focusing on events and activations in ad hoc venues and occasions.

For example, the spate of initiatives that will enliven the Trussardi furniture line’s showroom during Milan Design Week on April 7-13, which will morph for the occasion into ‘Casa Trussardi Gentle Society’, opening to the public and hosting workshops, shows, brunches and even a bike race during the week.

Trussardi, whose business has been growing mostly through licenses (childrenswear, beachwear, furniture, wallpaper, eyewear, perfumes, jewellery and watches), is above all keen to tell its story through its lifestyle range, the signature world that Trussardi built over the years, peaking in the 1970s and 80s. As demonstrated by the collection’s presentation, where countless accessories from the archives, such as bicycles, trunks, suitcases and a variety of handbags, including one with a racket pocket, blended elegantly with the showroom’s décor, sitting nicely alongside the clothes.

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Max Mara renews eyewear licence deal with Marcolin until 2032

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Nicola Mira

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April 2, 2025

The partnership between Marcolin and Max Mara is set to last. The Italian fashion label and the eyewear manufacturer have announced the renewal until December 31 2032 of the licence agreement for the design, production and distribution of Max Mara sunglasses and eyeglasses, which marked the label’s entry into eyewear four years ago.

Max Mara has renewed the eyewear licence deal with Marcolin until 2032 – DR

 
“Max Mara’s collections of sunglasses and optical frames are a byword for style and quality. The frames are the result of the brand’s continuous pursuit of perfection and balance between materials, shapes and colours, standing out for their elegant geometric lines and harmonious combination of textures and sophisticated hues,” the two partners said in a press release.
 
The renewal is confirmation of the solid relationship between the two companies, which in January 2024 decided to extend the eyewear licence deal for another of the label’s brands, Max & Co.

Marcolin was founded in 1962 in Italy’s Veneto region, a hub for eyewear manufacturing, and its portfolio includes proprietary brands Web Eyewear and ic! Berlin, and the licences for, among others, Tom Ford, Guess, Christian Louboutin, Zegna, GCDS and Pucci. Marcolin has approximately 2,000 employees and distributes its products in over 125 countries.
 
In fiscal 2024, Marcolin generated a revenue of €545.8 million, down 2.2%. Adjusted EBITDA instead grew by 10.2% to €85 million.

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