Laura Ashley shares plunge as Finance Chief leaves

The share price for Laura Ashley (FRA: ASH) plunged over 26% as a result of director Sean Anglim stepping down after 20 years at the British Textile firm.

Laura Ashley announced that Anglim would be replaced by Sagar Mavani.

In a public statement, Laura Ashely said “The board would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Anglim for his contribution during his tenure with the company and to wish him the very best for the future,”

The stock price was discounted by 27% at 1.37p per share listed by the London Stock Exchange (LON: LSE)

Mavani was appointed as group financial controller last year, and steps into the role in a tough economic and political climate.

Investors have noticed fragilities in the shares of Laura Ashley following a tough sales period.

Earlier this year, the high street store accounted a full year pretax loss of £10 million this year showing poor growth, poor sales and poor performance.

There has also been a decline in home furnishing business sales as well as online sales. This poor performance which also showed a fall of 10.53% in revenue added to Anglim’s worries.

Earlier in August, Andrew Khoo company chair said “The last twelve months have proved to be a difficult trading period for the group and indeed for the retail sector as a whole”

Khoo added, “We have focused on the reasons why home furnishings have underperformed and have taken necessary steps to mitigate this, including adding new contemporary product to our ranges. We have taken active steps to listen to our customers and now believe that we are on an appropriate recovery path”

g was made in August however with a new line of fashion wear with more design choice, which led to a 9.2% growth in like for like sales.

Having had a historic legacy in the British fashion market being a favorite of Princess Diana in its 1980’s prime time, Laura Ashley is facing a tough test.

Following the announcement that Anglim was set to depart the company, the market has had its say.

Investors and shareholders alike seem that this could be a period of decline for Laura Ashley.

This follows the annual report for 2019 showing a statutory loss of £14.3 million before tax.

It seems following this departure that times are only set to be tougher.

In the retail sector, there have been updates to Superdry Plc (LON: SDRY), Dunelm Group Plc (LON: DNLM) and Boohoo Group Plc (LON: BOO).

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