Fenwick bolsters leadership team amid ‘challenging’ enviroment

Fenwick has brought two new senior executives to its team as it eyes “an exciting new period of growth” despite sales falling and losses widening.

The department store has named Susan Gordon as its new chief people officer alongside Joseph Wright as its new chief trading officer, Retail Week reports.

The appointments, alongside new CEO Nigel Blow who was hired earlier this year, are expected to “strengthen the Fenwick executive structure” as well as boost its commercial targets and omnichannel strategy.

Gordon joins the retailer from her role as chief people and legal officer at Hush, having previously held several senior positions in HR throughout her career.

Wright was most recently channels director at Ann Summers, and has also worked at Selfridges, Dobbies, and Cath Kidston.

The news comes as Fenwick posts its trading update for the 2023 financial year, revealing a pre-tax loss of £28.4m, compared to a pre-tax profit of £57.1m the year prior.

Fenwick said last year’s profit included £97.5m from the sale of its Bond Street store, which was classified as an “exceptional item,” contributing to the significant drop in profit.

The department store’s operating loss also increased slightly from £39.1m to £39.8m, amid what it described as a “challenging retail environment.” Turnover fell from £199.7m in 2022 to £184.2m in 2023.

Despite this, Fenwick reported a “positive impact” from reinvestments following the Bond Street sale, which had “strengthened the Fenwick business model.”