Mike Ashley seeks to join Mulberry’s board as he tires of firm’s poor sales
Sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley is reportedly set to muscle his way onto the board of luxury brand Mulberry as he grows increasing tired of the company’s poor sales performance.
Ashley’s Frasers Group owns a 37 per cent stake in Mulberry, but the brand is ultimately controlled by Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng and his wife Christina who own 56 per cent of the AIM-listed firm.
He is understood to have met with Mulberry chairman Chris Roberts to request a voice in the boardroom, The Telegraph reports, with sources saying that his request has not yet been approved or turned down.
Ashley, who stepped down as CEO of Frasers last year but remains a majority shareholder at the firm, is said to be frustrated with “a lack of transparency around Mulberry’s business in Asia” and its poor sales performance.
Frasers first invested in Mulberry in 2020, as its department store House of Fraser was a prime seller of its luxury handbags.
The British brand, which is supported by the likes of Kate Middleton, has struggled to recover from the pandemic, and was forced to close its Paris store.
In its most recent results, however, Mulberry reported an “improvement” in retail revenue recording £64.9m in overall sales for the second half of the year boosted by an up tick in sales in China after the country fully reopened this year.
A Mulberry spokesperson said: “We have a constructive dialogue with all our shareholders and we do not provide public commentary on the details of these conversations.”
Morning Wire has contacted Frasers for a comment.