Superdry PLC (LON:SDRY) has announced the appointment of Benedict Smith as its new interim chief financial officer.
Smith has 18 years of experience in similar roles, most recently serving as interim at independent media company Dennis Publishing.
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He has previously worked as chief financial officer in the retail sector at businesses such as Harrods, Hunter Boots, Game Digital and Spirit Group, while he is currently a non-executive director of McColl's Retail Group PLC (LON:MCLS) and member of the remuneration and audit committees.
Smith, who is starting on Monday, is replacing Nick Gresham, who stepped down last month.
Retail industry veteran Gresham joined the fashion retailer’s board in June 2019 first as its interim chief financial officer but then stayed on permanently.
Chief executive and co-founder Julian Dunkerton ousted the rest of the retailer's board after he returned to the helm last year, leading to the appointment of Gresham, before announcing a two-to-three year strategy ‘reset’ to get “full control” of product and costs.
“I am delighted we have secured an interim chief financial officer with such extensive experience in senior finance roles in the retail sector,” said chairman Peter Williams.
“This is an important step in giving Superdry leadership and stability in a critical area of the business during an important time.”
Analysts at Liberum said that this is a positive development at a time of further uncertainty within the wider market backdrop.
"We note that the group’s cash management throughout COVID-19 to date already deserves much credit, with a net cash position of £44mln as at September materially ahead of prior year, due to both strong stock clearance and a disciplined buying for autumn/ winter 2020," the broker said.
"This puts it in a position of relative strength as we look to the coming weeks and months. Longer-term, post-COVID, we see a route back to profitability as the new strategy can more fully impact. In particular, a dramatic improvement in the AW21 product offer, more effective marketing and clearer, more targeted segmentation of the customer base should all drive increasing brand momentum."
Shares shed 6% to 170p early on Monday.
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