// Superdry co-founder James Holder is expected to receive £300,000 in consultancy fees
// Fellow co-founder Dunkerton said he would turn to Holder’s SuperDesign Lab to help revive the retailer
// Dunkerton had been re-elected to Superdry’s board after a public spat with senior management
Superdry co-founder James Holder is slated to pocket at least £300,000 per year in consultancy fees from the fashion retailer, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
The news comes after fellow co-founder Julian Dunkerton narrowly won his bid to rejoin Superdry’s board of directors after months of grabbing headlines as a vocal critic of the company’s business strategy.
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His re-election to the board, which he won with a marginal 50.75 per cent majority of proxy shareholder votes, sparked an immediate rebellion by directors in which they almost all resigned – including now-former chief executive Euan Sutherland.
According to The Telegraph, Dunkerton said afterwards that Superdry would turn to Holder’s SuperDesign Lab to help revive the fashion brand.
Holder, who retains a near-10 per cent stake in Superdry, has already designed 250 garments ready to be ordered at factories and is reportedly planning to roll out between 500 and 1000 new designs before Christmas.
Meanwhile, Sutherland was paid £728,000 annually at Superdry and is now entitled to a year’s salary despite his immediate resignation.
However, the pay-out will be reduced if Sutherland takes on another role within the next year.
Dunkerton has taken on the role of chief executive on an interim basis.
Former chairman Peter Bamford, chief financial officer Ed Baker and chair of the remuneration committee Penny Hughes were among the other big names to have stood down with immediate effect last week following Dunkerton’s return.
Last month, Superdry urged shareholders to vote against Dunkerton, citing it would be “extremely damaging to the company and its prospects”.
On the other hand, Dunkerton – who originally resigned from Superdry’s management team in March last year – blamed the fashion retailer’s decline and weak trading updates on heavy discounting and poor product decisions.
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