// Laura Ashley CEO & executive director Kwan Cheong Ng to step down in April
// He will remain on the fashion and lifestyle retailer’s board as a non-executive director
// CCO Katharine Poulter has been promoted to CEO – effective from May 1
Laura Ashley has announced that Kwan Cheong Ng will step down from his position as chief executive and executive director of the fashion and lifestyle retailer.
His last day will be April 30, after which he will remain on Laura Ashley’s board as a non-executive director.
Laura Ashley’s current chief operating officer Katharine Poulter will succeed Ng as chief executive and executive director, effective from May 1.
READ MORE:
- Laura Ashley joint operating chief Sean Anglim resigns
- Laura Ashley suffers full-year loss of £14m as homeware “underperforms”
In a statement, the board thanked Ng for his contribution to Laura Ashley and wished him “the very best in his retirement”.
Poulter has 25 years of retail experience, with previous stints at Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher, Wilko, Tesco and Home Retail Group – the now-defunct parent company of Argos and Habitat.
The news comes a few months after Laura Ashley’s finance director and joint chief operating officer Sean Anglim resigned after more than two decades with the business.
In its latest results, Laura Ashley reported a statutory loss before tax of £14.3 million for the 52 weeks to June 30, 2019.
This compares to a profit of £100,000 in 2018.
The retailer blamed poor online performance and under-performing homeware sales.
The results also prompted Laura Ashley to announce plans to extend its fashion offering to a younger demographic.
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