N Brown starts CFO search as Rachel Izzard steps down

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 29, 2022

As a proclaimed “top 10 UK clothing and footwear digital retailer”, N Brown should have little difficulty in attracting a new CFO. The vacancy comes as Rachel Izzard has just notified the board of her intention to step down as Group Chief Financial Officer.

She will be leaving the group to “take up a career opportunity outside of the online fashion and consumer credit industry”, the retailer said Tuesday.

However, there's no rush to find a replacement. Izzard has agreed to work her 12-month notice period while a successor is identified and a further announcement in this respect will be made in due course, N Brown said.

And in her notice period, Izzard can expect to be kept busy. The retailer, whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, said it expects “weakening consumer confidence [leading] to a more challenging online retail market”, in its last financial statement in June.

It then reported revenue down 4.6% and adjusted pre-tax profits plunging 82.4% for its half-year to the end of August.

Although it did say it continued to make “strategic progress” and has a “strong balance sheet”, it added: “Uncertainty around macroeconomic conditions persists, and as such, visibility of trading trends is limited. We have seen [the] second-quarter product revenue decline of 9.4% continue into September and at this stage, are planning on the basis of challenging market conditions continuing for longer, with H2 product revenue expected to decline at a similar rate to Q2”.