// Superdry co-founder Julian Dunkerton receives support from major City shareholder Oasis Management
// Dunkerton recently returned to the board of Superdry after narrowly winning a shareholder vote
// Reports indicate he is shoring up support for a turnaround scheme for the retailer
Julian Dunkerton has gained the support from a major City shareholder amid reports that he is shoring up support for a turnaround scheme for Superdry.
According to The Mail on Sunday, Dunkerton has been backed by Oasis Management which has taken a 3.3 per cent stake in the fashion retailer.
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It comes less than two weeks after Dunkerton narrowly won a shareholder vote to be re-appointed to Superdry’s board of directors.
In March last year he stepped down and resigned from the fashion retailer he co-founded with James Holder – although he kept his shares in the company – after months of grabbing headlines as a vocal critic of its business strategy.
Since his re-election, there has been some speculation that Dunkerton was seeking supporter investor shareholders as he readies a turnaround strategy for Superdry.
Investment firm Standard Life, which had tried to block Dunkerton’s re-election, reportedly had a “positive” meeting with him and his new team, which includes former Boohoo chairman Peter Williams.
Dunkerton’s 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 chief executive Euan Sutherland and chairman Peter Bamford.
Dunkerton and Holder’s combined shares in Superdry comprises 29 per cent of the retailer.
Superdry’s former board had urged shareholders to vote against Dunkerton, citing it would be “extremely damaging to the company and its prospects”.
On the other hand, Dunkerton blamed the fashion retailer’s decline and weak trading updates on heavy discounting and poor product decisions.
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