AGAIN AS ONLINE GIANT REPAIRS REPUTATION
SHARE PRICE ON RISE
their websites, the company hired top lawyer Ms Levitt to look into the allegations, which its board said left them “shocked”.
Last September, Ms Levitt found that there were “serious issues” in the company’s supply chain.
Boohoo has since pledged to strengthen internal controls, overhaul its suppliers and is also launching a sustainability strategy, called Up Front, to reduce its carbon footprint.
Bosses also hired judge Sir Brian Leveson to supervise the firm’s Agenda for Change reforms.
In a second report published separately on yesterday, Sir Brian noted that improved supplier audits have changed the way the industry is run in Leicester and noted Boohoo’s efforts to embed a new way of working.
John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, said: “This is not the end of a project for us at Boohoo but the beginning of a new way of working with our suppliers.
“The publication of our UK Supply Chain List marks another step on our journey towards greater transparency and embedding positive change, not only in our own organisation, but through the wider network of businesses that make up our supply chain.”
Shares in Boohoo were up around 2 per cent yesterday as market analysts said it was a positive move for the business after a year of bad PR.
Russ Mould, of online stockbroker AJ Bell, said: “It’s encouraging to see Boohoo deliver on its promises to facilitate better standards in its supply chain.
“Its reputation was in tatters last year after intense media scrutiny into dubious practices involving its suppliers and a general unethical approach to doing business.
“While there is an argument to say Boohoo should never have worked with suppliers that have poor standards, the retailer has at least admitted mistakes and taken steps to remedy the situation.
“These actions have resulted in Boohoo upping its game, making a firm effort to stamp out modern slavery practices, and enabling better oversight of its supply chain.
“Boohoo is having to make significant changes in the public eye, and it could become a model example of how the world will no longer accept substandard business practices, forcing change for the better.”