Julian Dunkerton returned to Superdry PLC (LON:SDRY) on Tuesday after convincing just enough investors that he should be brought back on board.
The 54-year-old left the coats and hoodies maker this time last year, with now ex-chairman Peter Bamford saying the “time was right” for Dunkerton to move on.
READ: Superdry slumps as management quits en masse
As it turns out, Dunkerton had seemingly fallen out with most of the board, with each party blaming the other for the winter range which flopped.
In the year since his departure, Dunkerton has seen the value of his 18% stake tumble by around £150mln as the share price crashed 1,500p to below 500p.
That was one of the main reasons for him wanting to return, a wish that was granted to him following Tuesday’s narrow victory.
But does the return of a boss ever end well for the company?
Dunkerton no doubt has a tough job to make a success of his return as Superdry’s chief executive.
The board resigned en masse following the vote but he also has to make wholesale changes to the strategy going forward. A kidswear line which was in the offing will now have to be scrapped, for example.
Steve Jobs is perhaps the greatest comeback story
He can look to Steve Jobs for inspiration, though. The future billionaire founded Apple back in the seventies but he was forced out in 1985 after a boardroom fallout.
He returned 12 years later after a desperate Apple bought his NeXT start-up for US$429mln and made him interim CEO just a few months later. He then become its permanent boss in 2000.
Under his stewardship, Apple would go on to be the biggest company in the world after revolutionising how we listen to music and use our phones.
Howard Schultz gave Starbucks a much-needed jolt
Another one for Dunkerton to look to would be Starbucks’ founder Howard Schultz.
After serving as the coffee shop chain’s CEO from its inception in 1987 right through until 2000, he decided to step aside and become the company’s chairman.
But after a share price plunge in 2007 on the back of falling like-for-like sales, Schulz reclaimed the CEO position, replacing Jim Donald.
As there will be for Superdry, there were some short-term hits for Starbucks: executives were fired, underperforming stores were shut down and all US locations were temporarily closed in order to retrain staff.
Between his re-appointment in 2008 and his eventual departure last summer, Starbucks’ share price rocketed by more than 1,000%.
Dell still a dud, even after Michael's return
Schultz proved to be just the tonic (or should it be coffee?), but there have been less successful returns, though.
Michael Dell started his eponymous computer business in 1984 and went on to be the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
He remained at the helm until 2004, when he became chairman and Kevin Rollins took over.
Rollins resigned a few years later after a string of below-par earnings reports, and Dell returned to pick up the pieces.
Even with its founder back as its boss, Dell still struggled, and after overseeing a 30% decline in the stock price, Dell opted to buy out the company in 2013.