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Clothing brand, popular among South African tourists travelling abroad, Superdry shares dived after corporate and boardroom actions played out recently. We take a look at various news reports on the boardroom maneuvers that took place at the group recently and the impact its had on the group's share price.
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Reuters reported:
According to Reuters and shared on Sharenet's website the following was reported regarding recent developments at the group.
Shares in Superdry Plc fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday after founder Julian Dunkerton narrowly forced his way back into the company, which sparked the exit of most of its board members, including top executives. Dunkerton, the former boss of Superdry, on Tuesday was voted back on the board by a slim margin and hours later was named interim chief executive officer after winning the backing of shareholders looking for a revival of the fashion group's fortunes.
The move did not sit well with most of Superdry's board, which had opposed his comeback. Chief Executive Officer Euan Sutherland, who has been at the helm for five years, resigned immediately. Dunkerton, who owns 18.4 percent of the equity, quit a year ago after a row over strategy. He takes issue in particular with Superdry's product design and internet plans. Analysts said the resignations raised fears of more departures as the company deals with a share price that has dropped 64 percent over the past year following several profit warnings, the latest in December.
"We would be more concerned if we see further significant departures from the retail board and operational management teams and view the recruitment of a heavyweight CFO as a priority," Peel Hunt analysts said. Analysts also said short-term disruptions were inevitable as Dunkerton steadies the ship and starts to enact his recovery plans, which will tack on costs as the company tries to jump-start revenue.
Dunkerton and co-founder James Holder run a "Save Superdry" website, which highlights that Superdry lost about 865 million pounds of its value after Dunkerton left the board. Investec analysts downgraded their recommendation on the stock to "hold" from "buy", adding that the resignation of all but one board member left the group in a "management and strategic vacuum".
Superdry's board had accused Dunkerton of a lack of transparency with shareholders and said his return would see directors either resign or not seek re-election. "The resignation of the entire board of Superdry and its two brokers following co-founder Julian Dunkerton's narrow victory vote yesterday to return as CEO, monumental as it may be, is really only the tip of the iceberg where necessary change is concerned," Edison Investment analyst Kate Heseltine, said. Analysts said Superdry will need to provide a clear view of the future to investors.
"From here the hard work begins to turn around the fortunes of this once darling retailer that has seen its sales and profits, and the share price, plummet over the past year," Heseltine said. Investec analysts said Superdry has relied heavily on the Christmas season and an over-reliance on hoodies, graphic tees and outerwear, and were skeptical of Dunkerton's strategy to fix these issues.
Shares in Superdry Plc fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday after founder Julian Dunkerton narrowly forced his way back into the company, which sparked the exit of most of its board members, including top executives. Dunkerton, the former boss of Superdry, on Tuesday was voted back on the board by a slim margin and hours later was named interim chief executive officer after winning the backing of shareholders looking for a revival of the fashion group's fortunes.
The move did not sit well with most of Superdry's board, which had opposed his comeback. Chief Executive Officer Euan Sutherland, who has been at the helm for five years, resigned immediately. Dunkerton, who owns 18.4 percent of the equity, quit a year ago after a row over strategy. He takes issue in particular with Superdry's product design and internet plans. Analysts said the resignations raised fears of more departures as the company deals with a share price that has dropped 64 percent over the past year following several profit warnings, the latest in December.
"We would be more concerned if we see further significant departures from the retail board and operational management teams and view the recruitment of a heavyweight CFO as a priority," Peel Hunt analysts said. Analysts also said short-term disruptions were inevitable as Dunkerton steadies the ship and starts to enact his recovery plans, which will tack on costs as the company tries to jump-start revenue.
Dunkerton and co-founder James Holder run a "Save Superdry" website, which highlights that Superdry lost about 865 million pounds of its value after Dunkerton left the board. Investec analysts downgraded their recommendation on the stock to "hold" from "buy", adding that the resignation of all but one board member left the group in a "management and strategic vacuum".
Superdry's board had accused Dunkerton of a lack of transparency with shareholders and said his return would see directors either resign or not seek re-election. "The resignation of the entire board of Superdry and its two brokers following co-founder Julian Dunkerton's narrow victory vote yesterday to return as CEO, monumental as it may be, is really only the tip of the iceberg where necessary change is concerned," Edison Investment analyst Kate Heseltine, said. Analysts said Superdry will need to provide a clear view of the future to investors.
"From here the hard work begins to turn around the fortunes of this once darling retailer that has seen its sales and profits, and the share price, plummet over the past year," Heseltine said. Investec analysts said Superdry has relied heavily on the Christmas season and an over-reliance on hoodies, graphic tees and outerwear, and were skeptical of Dunkerton's strategy to fix these issues.
The following was reported on Cityam
The following was reported on Cityam (the original article can be found here)
The drop in share price comes in the wake of a swathe of resignations from Superdry’s directors, who are stepping down after the firm’s co-founder won a vote to return to the company’s board. Shareholders voted by a narrow majority of 50.75 per cent to re-elect Dunkerton yesterday, in a major blow to the Superdry’s directors, who have previously threatened to resign after warning investors that the entrepreneur’s reappointment would be “extremely damaging”.
Chairman Peter Bamford, chief executive Euan Sutherland, finance chief Ed Barker and remuneration committee chair Penny Hughes all stepped down with immediate effect last night, while four other directors are set to stand down on 1 July.
UBS and Investec, as brokers to Superdry, have both also resigned.
Read more: Dunkerton wins narrow vote to return to board of Superdry
Dunkerton is set to take over as interim chief executive while Peter Williams – the former Boohoo chair who also narrowly won a vote to return to the board yesterday – has been appointed as Superdry’s chairman. Kate Heseltine, an analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: "A change is as good as a rest. But the resignation of the entire Board of Superdry and its two brokers following co-founder Julian Dunkerton’s narrow victory vote yesterday to return as chief executive, monumental as it may be, is really only the tip of the iceberg where necessary change is concerned.
"From here the hard work begins to turn around the fortunes of this once darling retailer that has seen its sales and profits, and the share price, plummet over the past year. Of course, there is ongoing debate over whether the problems relate to legacy issues versus strategic initiatives implemented during Euan Sutherland’s tenure as chief executive. It seems likely that Dunkerton will want to address the online strategy and the ranges, including recent plans to diversify beyond the core sweatshirts and jackets offering and branch out into childrenswear, whilst filling a number of boardroom vacancies and attempting to maintain unity throughout the organisation. "In the face of so much uncertainty once thing seems abundantly clear, that Dunkerton remains as passionate about the success of this global brand as he was when it first floated on the stock market almost a decade ago, and that is no bad thing."
The drop in share price comes in the wake of a swathe of resignations from Superdry’s directors, who are stepping down after the firm’s co-founder won a vote to return to the company’s board. Shareholders voted by a narrow majority of 50.75 per cent to re-elect Dunkerton yesterday, in a major blow to the Superdry’s directors, who have previously threatened to resign after warning investors that the entrepreneur’s reappointment would be “extremely damaging”.
Chairman Peter Bamford, chief executive Euan Sutherland, finance chief Ed Barker and remuneration committee chair Penny Hughes all stepped down with immediate effect last night, while four other directors are set to stand down on 1 July.
UBS and Investec, as brokers to Superdry, have both also resigned.
Read more: Dunkerton wins narrow vote to return to board of Superdry
Dunkerton is set to take over as interim chief executive while Peter Williams – the former Boohoo chair who also narrowly won a vote to return to the board yesterday – has been appointed as Superdry’s chairman. Kate Heseltine, an analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: "A change is as good as a rest. But the resignation of the entire Board of Superdry and its two brokers following co-founder Julian Dunkerton’s narrow victory vote yesterday to return as chief executive, monumental as it may be, is really only the tip of the iceberg where necessary change is concerned.
"From here the hard work begins to turn around the fortunes of this once darling retailer that has seen its sales and profits, and the share price, plummet over the past year. Of course, there is ongoing debate over whether the problems relate to legacy issues versus strategic initiatives implemented during Euan Sutherland’s tenure as chief executive. It seems likely that Dunkerton will want to address the online strategy and the ranges, including recent plans to diversify beyond the core sweatshirts and jackets offering and branch out into childrenswear, whilst filling a number of boardroom vacancies and attempting to maintain unity throughout the organisation. "In the face of so much uncertainty once thing seems abundantly clear, that Dunkerton remains as passionate about the success of this global brand as he was when it first floated on the stock market almost a decade ago, and that is no bad thing."
Superdry Share Price History
The image above shows that the share price performance of Superdry has been negative for a sustained period of time and its fallen far from levels of well over 2000p to the current 460p. Fashion is a tough industry and for the group to have survived since their creation in 1985 says a lot about their longevity. And we are sure investors will be hoping this is just a temporary blip in the group's history. So to those South Africans reading this, even with the group's share price decline in recent times, the group's market capital is still 377 million pounds (or at a exchange rate of R19 a Great British Pound), puts the group's market cap at just over R7 billion.