Superdry co-founder Julian Dunkerton has taken another swipe at the fashion retailer by criticising its strategy, as he continues his campaign to return to the business.
In a City stockbroker note, Dunkerton expressed concerns about Superdry’s business direction to Wayne Brown, an analyst at broker Liberum and former Superdry head of investor relations.
In the note, Dunkerton said he quit Superdry’s board in March because he could not “put his name to the strategy”, which centred on reducing the number of products it sells.
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“The interaction between stores and the internet is going to be so fundamental to the future of retail,” he wrote.
“Consumers have adopted the internet and, by doing so, have moved away from the limitations of the high street and towards a world of unlimited choice.
“The premise here is if one does not participate in this world, you will get left behind.”
It’s not the first time Dunkerton, who still owns more than 18 per cent of Superdry, has publicly criticised the retailer he co-founded 30 years ago.
He previously warned it was “on the wrong path”, and has gone on the record to say he was willing to return to the retailer “in any capacity” in order to turn it around.
In order to do this, Dunkerton is understood to have had meetings with Superdry chairman Peter Bamford, several of the retailer’s top 10 institutional investors, as well as shareholders.
Superdry previously said it reviewed Dunkerton’s criticisms of its current strategy although the board had a different view.
Shares in Superdry have slumped more than 60 per cent this year amid falling sales and a profit warning in its interim results in October.
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