New Look on the hunt for new COO
Fri 30 Jul 2010
by Ben Sillitoe
New Look has been left looking for a new Chief Operating Officer after Lex Gemas announced his departure from the company today.
The youth fashion chain’s CEO Carl McPhail said he is disappointed with the news, but plans to appoint a replacement “in due course”.
McPhail commented: “While we are disappointed at Lex’s decision, we have an extremely strong and experienced operational team who will now report directly to me.”
It is uncertain what role Gemas will take next, but he is a man with considerable experience in the retail industry.
He arrived at New Look in May 2009 from Hong Kong-based fashion retailer Esprit, where he had been Head of Global Retail since 2005.
Gemas’ decision to leave New Look comes after the company announced in February that it was postponing its initial public offering (IPO) of shares and listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Commenting at the time, McPhail said: "We have taken the difficult decision to postpone the IPO as a result of the considerable volatility in the equity markets.
“We remain convinced of the strengths of the New Look business and its suitability as a public company. We will re-evaluate our options when market conditions improve.”