Formerly incoming Fenwick CEO ‘shocked’ at retailer’s U-turn

Just weeks before Nigel Blow was to take up the role of chief executive at Fenwick, the premium department store chain announced that he would no longer be stepping into the position. Now, Blow has spoken out to bring clarification to the decision.

Currently the CEO of Morleys, Blow is a former executive for Harrods, where there is an ongoing dispute regarding sexual assault allegations against the retailer’s prior owner, the late Mohamed Al Fayed. No connection between Blow, who worked at Harrods during Al Fayed’s ownership, and the claims against the former head has currently been made.

Earlier this week, Fenwick told the media that Blow would no longer be taking on the helm role, implying that he had been the one to withdraw his appointment. In a statement, the company said: “In July 2024, we announced that we would be appointing Nigel Blow as CEO of Fenwick. Nigel Blow has informed us that he will no longer be taking up this position.”

Now, however, Blow has told Drapers that he found it “appropriate to clarify a number of points” in response to press articles written about him, initially by the BBC, the media outlet that first reported his alleged withdrawal, as well as the allegations against Al Fayed.

Speaking to Drapers, Blow said: "I am shocked that Fenwick has withdrawn its offer of the CEO position to me, just two weeks before I was due to start on 17 October and after several weeks of me meeting many Fenwick executives and shareholders in preparation for joining.

"Fenwick announced my appointment on 30 July. I was very excited to join Fenwick and take on the significant challenge of turning the business around to profitability after a run of poor, loss-making, results in recent years.”

Blow noted that he had watched the BBC documentary about Al Fayed – in which over 20 women came forward with claims of sexual assault and rape – in “absolute horror” and noted that he “did not know and [has] never met any of the women who bravely spoke about the grooming, sexual assaults and rapes they endured”.

He added that during his time at Harrods, where he had held senior roles between 2002 and 2007, he had “never heard about or witnessed any such behaviour by Al Fayed”.

Blow resigned from his position at Morleys in July 2024, and is currently serving his notice period with “full backing of the board”. Speaking to Drapers, Morleys said it had “no knowledge” of the allegations against Al Fayed yet was “horrified to hear the reports”. It added that Blow had worked at the group for eight years, and that the company was “happy with his contributions” over this time.