Harvey Nicks boss quits af ter revamp f lops
‘Every girl’s dream job’
THE leading fashion executive brought in to revitalise Harvey Nichols has quit after the luxury department store plunged into the red.
Stacey Cartwright, 54, is stepping down after a revamp costing millions failed to attract super-rich overseas shoppers.
The privately-owned firm also made a £6.7million loss last year, down from a profit of £3million profit in 2016.
Miss Cartwright, a mother-of-three, will leave at the end of the month, having once described running the stores as ‘every girl’s dream job’.
She became chief executive in 2014 after helping the British fashion house Burberry, where she was head of finance, increase annual sales to £2billion in a decade.
But she has been unable to work the same magic at Harvey Nichols, which spent more than a year redesigning its flagship store in Knightsbridge, west London, to compete with its rival Harrods.
The expensive investment failed to pay off, with sales remaining flat.
She had already stepped down as chief executive in a management shake-up last September to serve part time as deputy chairman, overseeing new co-chief operating officers Daniela Rinaldi and Manju Malhotra. The pair will run the firm under its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon.
Harvey Nichols will not hire a new chief executive. Miss Cartwright said last night: ‘It has been a privilege to have led Harvey Nichols through the first stage of the brand rejuvenation over the past four years. The refurbishment of the Knightsbridge flagship store is well advanced, while the digital development of the brand has achieved significant progress.’
A firm believer in a healthy work-life balance, she arrives in the office at 8.30am and leaves no later than 7pm.
The Liverpool FC fan studied economics with accounting and finance at the London School of Economics.
She has worked at the accountancy firm PwC, the former media giant Granada, Liverpool FC and the internet bank Egg.
Harvey Nichols was founded by Benjamin Harvey in 1831 as a linen shop in a terraced house built where the flagship store stands today.
The department store was formed after Harvey employed James Nichols in 1841.
Later purchased by Debenhams, Harvey Nichols was acquired in 1991 by Mr Poon.
It has eight stores in the UK and Ireland, and seven in Hong Kong, Turkey, Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.