Frasers states Boohoo ‘grossly exaggerated’ conflicts as retailer cuts jobs

The war of words continues between Frasers Group and Boohoo, which are currently embroiled in a public dispute over boardroom control amid falling sales at the latter. Just hours after Boohoo announced that a proxy advisor recommended for shareholders to vote against Frasers’ proposals in the group’s upcoming general meeting, Frasers has issued a letter to Boohoo shareholders doubling down on its perspective towards the operations and leadership of fast fashion giant.

In it, Frasers responded to Boohoo’s repeated accusations that the group was not willing to provide governance commitments if Mike Ashley and Mike Lennon–the group’s two proposed representatives–were to be elected to the board. The company doubled down on its criticism of how Boohoo was being run after stating that the Debenhams owner had “grossly exaggerated any perceived conflicts and governance concerns”, stating that this was used as a “thinly-veiled excuse to not appoint Ashley and Lennon as directors”.

Frasers noted that Ashley and Lennon would agree to “all market-standard and customarily accepted governance protocols”, yet claimed there were a “small number” of demands from Boohoo that had “no basis of law and are not deemed acceptable corporate practice”. Frasers added that, in its opinion, such backlash was a result of Boohoo’s founder, Mahmud Kamani, fearing such appointments would “dilute his influence over the board”, and comes despite alleged private admissions that Ashley would provide “unrivalled retail expertise” to Boohoo if appointed.

The letter was issued on the heels of news that Boohoo has enacted a redundancy programme at its Manchester head office as part of wider cost-saving measures carried out by new CEO, Dan Finley. According to Drapers, around 200 members of staff will be impacted throughout the programme, which spans a number of brands across the group’s portfolio, including Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing. Boohoo has declined to comment on the job cuts.