Boohoo under fire in BBC undercover sting
A BBC reporter has gone undercover at the Manchester headquarters of fast fashion brand Boohoo and accused the company of breaking promises to treat suppliers and workers fairly.
Undercover reporter Emma Lowther took an admin assistant’s job at the company’s Manchester HQ and alleges on the documentary that she saw evidence of staff pressuring suppliers to drive prices down, even after deals had been agreed.
In 2017 Channel 4 exposed sweat shops in Leicester which were supplying the company, leading to a wholesale overhaul of working practices after an enquiry by Alison Levitt KC found the allegations to be “substantially true”.
The promises the company made were enshrined in a comprehensive Agenda for Change where it admitted mistakes and even built a new factory in Leicester.
The retailer has faced a turbulent year with declining sales, financial losses and a boardroom battle for control of online cosmetics business Revolution Beauty.
In early October, TheBusinessDesk.com reported figures for the latest six month period showed Boohoo’s turnover reached £729.1m, which was 17% down on the previous year’s £882.4m figure. A pre-tax loss of £26.4m, compared with a loss of £15.1m, which marks a 74% deterioration.
But the business has also told investors that “a significant cost savings programme” worth up to £125m was part of the plan to return to profitability.
But BBC reporter Emma Lowther alleges that in her time at Boohoo, colleagues told her to negotiate hard with suppliers in order to secure cheap deals with suppliers by lying.
She says she saw earlier promises of ethical trading consistently undermined during her 10 weeks undercover at Boohoo’s head office in Manchester.
“Go in low and if you’re not getting anywhere then just say that you can get it cheaper elsewhere. I’m just lying. I just lie,” she says one former colleague told her.
Lowther also makes the claim that brand-new orders had to be personally approved by Boohoo’s executive chairman, Mahmud Kamani. The company refutes this claim.
After 10 weeks of working at Boohoo, Lowther was called into a meeting and told she had made mistakes which had cost the company money. The reporter was sacked.
The programme also features undercover filming at suppliers in Leicester where it is alleged that staff worked through the night to fulfil orders to Boohoo.
Boohoo has responded to the BBC by saying: “We take any breach of our supplier Code of Conduct extremely seriously and are currently investigating Panorama’s claims.”
Boohoo have been contacted by TheBusinessDesk.com for comment for a response to the allegations made in the programme which screens on television at 8pm tonight, but is available to view on the BBC iPlayer.
