Ashley swings axe over House Of Fraser chiefs
MIKE ASHLEY has dismissed senior management at House Of Fraser, just weeks after he bought it.
The Sports Direct tycoon took the company out of administration for £90million in August, claiming he wanted to turn the department store chain into the “Harrods of the High Street”.
Among those being axed include chief executive Alex Williamson.
Chairman Frank Slevin has already stepped down.
Mr Ashley has previously called for an investigation into the retailer’s controversial demise.
Prior to the Newcastle United owner taking over, House Of Fraser was owned by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower.
Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said that Mr Ashley now has a “big job” on his hands.
He said: “There is an obvious question about whether he is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
“Is there some expertise in there and some knowledge in the business that could have proved useful and ultimately the test of that decision?
“Let’s not forget this is a company that fell into administration.
“Stores on the high street are clearly open and trading but behind the scenes this is a company that is still in difficulties and Mike Ashley and Sports Direct have a big job on their hands.”
Meanwhile, Ashley remains locked in talks with landlords about rents as he aims to keep the bulk of House Of Fraser’s 58 stores open.
But he has been unable to save outlets in Edinburgh, Hull and Swindon after landlords refused to agree to new terms. Ashley labelled them “greedy”. Patrick O’Brien, UK retail research director at GlobalData, said that the House Of Fraser management’s days had always been numbered.
He said: “The writing was on the wall as soon as Mike Ashley made his criticisms and called for an investigation at the time that he took over.
“There’s already reports of pushing some Sports Direct goods into House Of Fraser, which doesn’t really fit with the ‘Harrods of the High Street’.
“It’s ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ for staff.”