Quiz CEO and founder resigns as sales continue to drop amid strategic review

The chief executive officer of fast fashion retailer Quiz has resigned from the helm position following a yearly drop in sales amid an ongoing strategic review.

While stepping down from the leadership role, Tarak Ramzan, who also founded the British company and is its largest shareholder, will instead be resuming a non-executive director role, remaining available to the business to ensure a smooth transition.

In his place will be stepping Quiz’s current chief commercial officer, Sheraz Ramzan, who has been in his most recent position since 2004 and has served as an executive director of the company since its IPO listing in 2017.

In a regulatory filing, Quiz said Sheraz Ramzan would be implementing a turnaround strategy to “recalibrate the Quiz brand, its product offering and reconnect with consumers” in a bid to return the company to profitable growth.

To support this shift, non-executive chairman Peter Cowgill has stepped into a more active role to aid the ongoing review of strategic options.

Increase in international demand gives positive outlook

The leadership change comes at a time when Quiz continues to see “subdued levels of traffic both in-store and online”, with sales for the first two months of 2024 already dropping 9 percent to 8.6 million pounds, compared to the same period last year.

Cumulative sales for the period April 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024, meanwhile, came to 74.4 million pounds, reflecting a 12 percent decrease.

Quiz said that it did have hope for the coming year, however, with the launch of a new omnichannel retail platform expected to maximise revenues, and an increase in demand for international territories, particularly in Saudi Arabia where it has secured a new franchise partnership with the Al Othaim Group.

As such, the company expects revenue and loss before taxation for the year to be “in line with expectations”, while gross margin is to remain consistent year-on-year.

Steps have also been taken to preserve Quiz’s cash position, with a four million pounds of banking facilities scheduled for renewal in June 204, for which it is in dialogue with a long-term lender regarding a renewal.

Next to the restriction of capital expenditures, the board said it would continue to examine other potential strategic options that may be available.

In the filing, Cowgill added: "The UK apparel market has undergone significant well reported changes since QUIZ 's IPO in 2017 and it continues to evolve at pace. The board changes announced today provide an opportunity for a fresh vision and new leadership approach to create value for all shareholders. I look forward to working closely with Sheraz, following his well-deserved promotion to CEO, to determine the optimum path forward for the business.”