Loss of boss at Moss Bros
Adrian Wright leaving menswear business
February 6 2004
Moss Bros chief executive Adrian Wright, who joined the menswear retail business in 2002, is to leave.
Wright, who has presided over a strong revival of fortunes for Moss Bros, is standing down ‘to pursue other interests’, said the company.
It was understood that the board believed that it needed someone with a stronger retail flair, rather than Wright’s turnaround skills, lead the next stage of Moss Bros’s development.
Replacing Wright as chief executive is Philip Mountford, currently buying and trading director. Mountford, previously managing director of Versace UK, has been with Moss Bros since April 2002.
Moss Bros announced the changes as it reported a further improvement in trading over Christmas and the New Year, along with a return to profit for the current financial year.
The company said sales were flat across the year, reflecting reduced levels of promotional activity, with gross margin up 7 per cent like-for-like.
Chairman Keith Hamill said: “The company has traded well over the Christmas and New Year period and established a viable platform for developing real shareholder value. Adrian has done a good job in turning the company round in difficult circumstances.
“Philip’s strong background in product makes him the right person to be leading the Company brands of Moss, Cecil Gee and Hugo Boss through to the next phase of their development.”
Wright said: “The return to profit is a testament to the hard work of the management team in implementing the recovery strategy which I set out when I joined the company two years ago. I am confident the company has an excellent future.”
Mountford said: “This is a very exciting opportunity. Adrian is leaving the company in a good position having achieved profitability for the first time in four years. We start the new financial year with a better product offer and are confident of achieving sales growth over the next twelve months.”
