Fashion victim: New Look chief shown the door

THE boss of New Look, Anders Kristiansen, has been shown the door following last month’s woeful retail results topped more than a year of falling sales.

The Danish chief executive had led the chain for more than five years, overseeing a turnaround that resulted in a £1.9bn takeover by South Africa’s Brait group two years ago.

Mr Kristiansen pushed New Look on a path of rapid international expansion, leading to the opening of 110 stores across China. Under his watch the business tried to reduce its exposure to the UK and launched stand-alone menswear stores to tap into a growing area of the market.

However, the retailer recently came unstuck after making a series of buying mistakes, which led to the chief executive admitting that its “product could be better”.

Last month, New Look reported a 7.5pc slump in first-quarter like-forlike sales, while losses after tax swelled to £15.2m compared with a £5.8m profit the year before. Mr Kristiansen has attempted to turn New Look around by reshuffling his team, recruiting former Zara Basic head of product Paula Dumont Lopez as chief creative officer and poaching Mango womenswear director Rosa Gutierrez Sanchez to bolster its buying, merchandising and design departments.

It is understood Brait and Mr Kristiansen came to a mutual agreement that new leadership was needed. Brait has launched a search for a successor, while Danny Barrasso, managing director of UK and Ireland, has been appointed interim chief executive.