Boohoo is set to be renamed as Debenhams Group, marking a pivotal step in new chief executive Dan Finley’s plans to revive the troubled online retailer.
Finley, who previously headed Boohoo’s Debenhams business, says he intends to replicate the “marketplace model” across the entire company, underpinned by Debenhams’ profitable growth since Boohoo acquired it out of administration in 2021.
“Debenhams is back,” Finley declared, as he confirmed the group will maintain its own brands while also hosting other retailers’ products on its platform. Boohoo believes this rebrand, effective immediately, “reflects a major strategic change” and will serve as a “blueprint for the wider turnaround of the group.”
The company also announced a shake-up of its senior leadership: Phil Ellis, who worked alongside Finley in running Boohoo’s Debenhams business, has replaced Stephen Morana as finance director with immediate effect.
Despite this strategic overhaul, Boohoo trimmed its sales forecast for the financial year to February 2025 down to £1.22 billion, below analysts’ estimates of £1.29 billion. The Manchester-based group, known for owning labels such as PrettyLittleThing and Karen Millen, has seen its share price slump by more than 88 per cent over the past five years. Fierce online competition, the high street’s resurgence post-pandemic, and calls to break up the business have all taken their toll.
Boohoo, founded in 2006 and once among Britain’s fastest-growing retailers, completed an IPO on London’s junior Aim market in 2014 at 50p a share, with an initial valuation nearing £600 million. Co-founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane reaped £135 million and £25 million respectively from the flotation. While the group’s fortunes have faltered, Finley insists that Debenhams Group now has “its best days ahead,” promising to become “leaner, faster, and more technologically advanced.”