Sports Direct sacks House of Fraser top brass
Mike Ashley’s Shirebrook-based Sports Direct has sacked the former directors and senior management of House of Fraser.
The move comes amid growing calls for an investigation into the collapse of the department store, which Sports Direct bought last month out of administration for £90m.
In a terse statement to the London Stock Exchange late yesterday afternoon (1 October), Sports Direct, the new owner of House of Fraser, said: “Following the collapse of House of Fraser on August 10 2018, and subsequent calls for an investigation into the circumstances of that collapse, the company announces that we have dismissed the former directors and senior management of House of Fraser.”
Richard Lim, chief executive of analyst firm Retail Economics said: “The dismissal of the entire senior management team at House of Fraser signals the momentous challenge at hand. Drastic action has been taken following a series of woeful management decisions, clumsy execution and an outdated perception of the UK market.
“The new management team will need to prioritise right-sizing initiatives and utilise any excess space to sweat assets more effectively in a move become fit-for-purpose in today’s digital age.
“The retailer operates in the part of the industry under the most significant amount of pressure and race is on to rapidly restructure the business to ensure the takeover is a success.”
Last week, Ashley branded retail landlords as “greedy” – despite handing out a reprieve to the struggling chain’s Lincoln outlet, which had been earmarked for closure.
The Lincoln store will now stay open, but Ashley failed to agree terms with landlords in Edinburgh, Hull and Swindon meaning hundreds of jobs will be lost.
When he bought House of Fraser, Ashley pledged to save 47 of its 59 outlets.
Ashley said: “We’ve shown what we can achieve on the British high street when we work together with landlords. I would like to thank those landlords who have helped us to rescue approximately 3,500 jobs at the stores we have saved to date.”
Others that have been saved from closure include stores in Altrincham, Aylesbury, Camberley, Carlisle, Darlington, Doncaster, Grimsby, High Wycombe, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Skipton, Telford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Maidstone, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield.
