Primark store in Queens Mall in Elmhurst, NY.
Melissa repko | NebraskaDailyNews
Paul Marchant, head of the fast fashion chain Primark, admitted that he immediately resigned after he made a “misjudgment” against women in the social situation late last year.
The parent company-related British food said in a statement on Monday that the March man accepted his actions below expectations, and the CEO of the £14 billion ($18 billion) conglomerate said he was “very disappointed”.
During his 15 years in charge of Primark, Marchant’s operating profit quadrupled to £1 billion, doubled its store footprint to more than 450 stores in 17 countries in Europe and the United States.
Primark was founded in Ireland and has a huge business on UK Avenue, contributing about half of the group revenue and profits to AB Foods, which also have major grocery, sugar, agriculture and food businesses.
The parent company’s shares fell 2% on Monday, expanding losses to 7% this year
“I’m very disappointed. At ABF, we believe that high standards of integrity are crucial,” said CEO George Weston.
“Action responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term. Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity. Our culture must be bigger than any one.”
Marchant collaborated with an investigation initiated by AB Foods and conducted by an outside lawyer, “becomes an individual’s allegation of her behavior against her in a social environment.”
Marchant acknowledged his “misjudgment” and accepted that his actions were “below the criteria expected by ABF,” it said.
A spokesman for AB Foods said the company received a lawyer’s report “recently” despite the woman’s allegations and related incidents being “as of the end of last year.”
The spokesperson refused to state the rash nature of the marcher or to state that the woman involved was a Primark employee.
AB Foods said Marchant apologized to the women involved, the organization’s board of directors, and his Primark colleagues, and others associated with the business.
It said the group will continue to support women who get their behavioral attention.
Temporary Primark boss
AB Foods Financial Director Eoin Tonge will serve as Primark CEO in an interim work with Primark’s senior management team and its strategic advisory board, while AB Foods Financial Director Joana Edwards will serve as interim financial director.
“It’s really a very disappointing to say the least, which is for Mr. Markt and everyone at Primark and ABF, where he oversaw the growth of a high-value-based retailer with strong growth prospects,” said Clive Black, an analyst at Shore Capital.
Barclays analysts say the leading Primark is one of the most important roles in the UK retail industry and is likely to be keen on interest from potential candidates.
“But we think Primark is eager to fill the gap until they find the right person to take responsibility,” they said.
AB Foods will cut its annual sales guidance for Primark in January, which will be released on April 29 for the first half of the year.
(Tagstotranslate) Clothing retail (T) Business (T) Retail (T) Breakthrough News: Business (T) Business News
