Fat Face CEO to leave next year, successor to be named soon

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 28, 2018

Fat Face’s CEO is on the way out, but it’s not the usual undignified rapid exit from an under-performing company with the exec set to leave next year and saying the firm is “in good shape”. Anthony Thompson has been in charge for eight years and will leave in January.

The lifestyle retailer has seen strong results in recent periods with its sales in the year to June up 7.4%, despite the devastation in fashion retail on the UK high street.

“Fat Face celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and is in good shape. It feels the right time for the business and for me personally to move on to new challenges and the next stage of my career,” Thompson said in a release. “I shall miss Fat Face and would like to thank all the team who have been so supportive. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to lead such a great business.”

The company’s chairman praised the outgoing CEO and wished him well for the future. He also said that a successor should be announced “shortly to enable a smooth transition to allow us to build on progress over the last few years as we enter a new period of growth and investment.”

As mentioned, the company has been growing strongly with its online ops being ramped up and the firm also focusing on the US market. In the UK, it has also been expanding its physical footprint with new stores and store upgrades. 

And it has achieved good results without resorting to excessive markdowns, the company commenting that Black Friday and Christmas 2017 were success stories without having to match the frenzied price-cutting seen across the sector.