Karen Millen CEO leaves ‘after Boohoo takeover deal’

Karen Millen chief executive Beth Butterwick is reported to have stepped down from the role, following the takeover of the company by online fashion retailer Boohoo.

Butterwick, who has led the womenswear brand since 2016, has left the business after Boohoo acquired Karen Millen and Coast in an £18.2 million pre-pack administration deal, according to Drapers.

It has also been reported that staff at Karen Millen and Coast, the formalwear brand acquired by Karen Millen in December last year, are facing potential redundancies, with all pattern-cutting roles placed into consultancy.

A total of 62 jobs were cut immediately after the Boohoo takeover. Karen Millen and Coast employ around 1,100 people across their head office, 32 stores and 177 concession networks across the UK.

Boohoo’s takeover involved the pre-pack administration process of Karen Millen and Coast’s intellectual property rights and online operations, with no physical stores included in the deal. 125 members of staff who work in the online businesses will be retained.

The 32 stores and 177 concessions will trade for a short time as part of an administration process.

Announcing the Boohoo acquisition earlier this month, professional services firm Deloitte, which is leading the administration process, said: “Like many high street retailers, Karen Millen has suffered from high product and other cost inflation, decreasing footfall, weaker consumer confidence and a complex global operation in an increasingly competitive market.”

Boohoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Supermicro and NVIDIA’s AI Solution for Retailers
To find out more: click here

Poundland significantly reduces antisocial behaviour, aggression and shoplifting with Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras
Retail should not be a high-risk occupation. As a company, we are focused on listening to our colleagues and customers to help them with the issues they are facing in-store and so far, the feedback on our body cameras has been excellent. They act as a great visual deterrent, help to de-escalate situations and overall, this project has significantly aided our goal to make the retail environment safer.

For further information on Motorola Solutions’ retail security products, including body cameras, click here.

Advertisement