Koovs share price drops as Lord Waheed Alli steps back as executive chairman

Koovs' share price fell this morning as Lord Waheed Alli revealed he was bringing in a chief executive and stepping back from his role as executive chairman.

 

The India-focused etailer has appointed internet of things expert Mary Turner to head up the business ahead of a new round of fundraising. Alli will become chairman. 

 

Turner, who was until recently boss of AlertMe.com – the technology behind BT's “smart home” business Hive Active Heating, will join Koovs on 1 October. She has been non-executive since July. 

 

Other roles include marketing director at CompuServe/AOL, chief executive of BTLineOne and Tiscali UK. She has also worked for four years as a non-executive director of Asos.  

 

Robert Bready, currently creative and retail director, is taking on the new role of chief creative officer. Bready, who was product director at Asos for six years, remains on the board. 

 

The move comes as the Aim-listed company prepares to launch another fundraising round to support marketing. More details will be released ahead of time. 

 

Alli said: "I am delighted to welcome Mary to the executive team. Having worked closely with her at Asos I have first-hand knowledge of her experience and relentless energy which will help to drive Koovs through the significant period of growth ahead.

 

"I am also delighted that Robert has taken on the broader role of chief creative officer where a key focus will be on driving the growth of our own brand."

 

He added that trading in the first months of the current financial year was encouraging, with gross order value up 203 per cent on last year. Alli said it “continued to demonstrate the success of our offer and the huge potential for the business going forward."

 

But Koovs investors were less enthusiastic. Its share price was down 1.3 per cent as markets opened.