Julian Dunkerton secures top job at Superdry

JULIAN Dunkerton today secured his position as the permanent CEO of Superdry, a year after a bruising boardroom battle that saw him oust his predecessor.

As co-founder of the business and biggest shareholder with a 20% stake, he was horrified at the direction of the business under Euan Sutherland.

Dunkerton felt neither he nor others on the board understood the appeal of the brand.

Today he moved from interim to permanent CEO and will be supported by Silvana Bonello who becomes chief operating officer.

She was most recently with Vans and will move from Switzerland in March.

Superdry also needs a new chairman, with Peter Williams saying he will go next year.

He said: “I joined Superdry as Chairman with a clear goal of ensuring a smooth transition following the change of management last year. I am proud of the progress we are making to stabilise the business and reset the Superdry brand since last April.”

Andrew Wade at Jefferies said: “Given the successful early stages of the brand reset and business transformation….we believe the transition of Julian Dunkerton’s leadership to a permanent tole is a natural and positive progression.”

Superdry shares opened today at 240p. They have more than halved in the last 12 months.