Matchesfashion CEO is out, Chiquet steps up for now

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 1, 2021

Matchesfashion is seeking a new CEO following news that its chief executive of just a year has stepped down with immediate effect. Ajay Kavan has left the business and non-executive director Maureen Chiquet has taken on the role of executive chairwoman as the company looks for a new leader.

Chiquet, a former Gap exec and ex-CEO of Chanel, has been on the board since 2018, will oversee business activities until the new chief is in place. 

The company didn't give any specific reasons for the departure of its top executive but chairman Tom Hall did thank him for his “significant contributions to Matchesfashion over a challenging year”. He also paid tribute the changes he’s made in the business and its culture and wished him success for the future.

And Kavan said he was proud of the team and expects growth to accelerate in the years ahead.

Kavan had joined from Amazon just before the pandemic hit and replaced Ulric Jerome who’d left in 2019.

Matchesfashion hasn’t released results for recent periods so we don’t know how it has fared in the pandemic. Its latest results were filed a few months ago but only covered the year to January 31 2020.

In that year, its revenue rose to £430 million from £372 million, but the cost of sales rocketed. And it swung to a net loss of £5.9 million after a profit of £0.8 million a year earlier.