Fashion brand Mulberry has started the hunt for a new group finance director following the decision by Charles Anderson, who has been in the role for five years, to step down.
Mr Anderson, pictured below, will leave the board of the Somerset-based group, best known for its upscale handbags, at the end of this month.
However Mulberry, which has manufacturing sites at Chilcompton, south of Bath, and in Bridgwater, said he continue to support the business and assist with the handover and transition of the role’s responsibilities.
Announcing Mr Anderson’s departure to the London Stock Exchange, Mulberry said it had begun a process to identify a successor and a further announcement would be made in due course.
Mr Anderson’s departure comes two months after Mulberry CEO Andrea Baldo announced a streamlining of the group in the wake of a tough few years during which even its high-end customers cut back on spending on luxury items while buyers on more modest incomes were squeezed by the cost of living crisis.
He said there was a to create “a leaner, more agile organisation” following a 19% decline in revenue for the 26 weeks ended 28 September, with an underlying pre-loss of £15.3m, against £12.3m the previous period.
Mr Anderson joined Mulberry after 17 years with luxury clothing retail company Ted Baker, including as finance director of its subsidiaries and company secretary.
As well as developing and overseeing Ted Baker’s global finance function, he played an active role in its international expansion and systems transformation and oversaw its investor relations programme.
Prior to joining Ted Baker, he held various finance positions at House of Fraser, NatWest Markets and Carpetright.
Mulberry chairman Chris Roberts said: "I would like to thank Charles for his valuable contribution to the group over the past five years.
“His leadership, particularly over the last year, has been instrumental in steering the business through a very challenging period.”
Mr Anderson added: "Mulberry is an iconic brand and it has been a privilege to be part of its journey. I am confident that Mulberry is well-positioned for future success and I wish the team all the best in the years ahead.”
Mulberry’s shares have slumped by around 70% since 2021 and last May fell to their lowest level for 14 years after the firm warned that its well-heeled customers were continuing to cut back on spending.
The group employs around 1,400 people across the globe and has offices in London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul as well as its headquarters at Chilcompton.
Its two Somerset factories, which between them produce more than half its total output, have benefitted from new investment over recent years.