UK Edition
French Connection loses Christos Angelides after move to Reiss
French Connection faces more woe after its much-heralded non-executive director Christos Angelides was made new boss of high street rival Reiss.
Mr Angelides joined the board of French Connection in April last year, but will step down from the role next week in order to take up his new post. The retailer had hoped that Mr Angelides, a veteran of the industry, would be able to turn its fortunes around after almost nine years of losses.
Earlier this month, French Connection’s second biggest shareholder, Schroders, sold its entire stake in the business, reviving takeover speculation. The firm has been under intense pressure from activist investors who have called for the company to find a buyer or overhaul its corporate governance.
Gatemore Capital, OTK and Zoar Invest, which together own 15pc of French Connection’s shares, have called on company founder Stephen Marks to step down from his position of executive chairman, saying he has overseen a “tremendous decline in value”.
The brand enjoyed a revival in the mid-1990s when it launched its controversial Fcuk branding, but in recent years has struggled to attract shoppers. At the company's half-year results, French Connection reported that its cash position had fallen from £15m to £7.7m in the same period the year before. The retailer recorded pre-tax losses of £7.9m in July.
Earlier this year, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that the brand is to offload its expensive Oxford Street flagship store to US retailer Under Armour in order to reduce its costs.
French Connection is not the only retailer who may be disappointed by Mr Angelides’ new job: he had also been tipped to become Marks & Spencer’s clothing and homeware boss under new chief executive Steve Rowe, who is attempting to revive the ailing business.
Mr Angelides spent 28 years at high street giant Next, before a brief stint at Abercrombie & Fitch with the aim of turning around the retailer’s trading in the US.
He will take over from Reiss’ current chief executive and founder David Reiss in March. Mr Reiss will remain as the company’s chairman.
"I am delighted that Christos has agreed to lead Reiss... and look forward to working closely with him in order to ensure an orderly succession," Mr Reiss said.
Last month Reiss reported that total sales rose 19.7pc in the six weeks to January 7. French Connection was unavailable for comment.