Superdry COO Silvana Bonello exits

Superdry’s chief operating officer (COO) Silvana Bonello has stepped down from the business as the retailer seeks fresh funding.

First reported by Drapers, the exit was confirmed to FashionUnited via email. “We can confirm Silvana is leaving the business. We thank her for her contribution to Superdry and wish her all the best for the future,” the company said.

Bonello joined the high street retailer back in 2021 and played a key role in the company’s ongoing transformation strategy.

Prior to joining Superdry, she spent two years at Vans as vice president of planning and operations, and earlier still spent 18 years at Nike, most recently as marketplace operations director.

Her exit comes amid a significant time of change at Superdry, which has been undergoing a turnaround strategy in recent years which was hindered by the pandemic.

Superdry eyes additional funding

On Tuesday, Superdry confirmed media speculation that it was in talks with investors to secure fresh financing.

In a statement, the brand said that it was “in positive discussions with certain institutional and other investors with regards to a proposed equity fundraising of up to 20 percent of the company’s issued share capital”.

It added that founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton is intending to “significantly participate” in the raise and provide further “underwriting commitment”, which the company said reflected “his confidence in the long-term prospects of the businesses”.

That came after the company in late April announced it had struck a deal with lender Bantry Bay to increase the borrowing availability level under its asset-backed facility until the sale of Superdry’s Asia Pacific (APAC) business is completed.

In March, Superdry reached an agreement to offload its intellectual property (IP) assets within the APAC region to South Korean firm Cowell Fashion Company for 50 million dollars.