Category Archives: JD Sports Fashion

JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill quits with immediate effect

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Outspoken leader thought to have resisted board’s attempts to split the roles of chair and chief executive

The boss of JD Sports has stepped down with immediate effect just months after the retailer was fined more than £4m for breaching the competition regulator’s rules with clandestine meetings with a takeover target.

The company said Peter Cowgill, the outspoken chair and chief executive officer of JD, who has led the group since 2004, would be temporarily replaced as chief executive by Kath Smith, its senior independent director who spent 25 years as managing director of the Adidas and Reebok brands.

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Philip Green is the Scrooge who haunts millions of garment workers | Meg Lewis

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The fallen tycoon leaves behind a mountain of debt, much of it owed to exploited people in Asia earning as little as £4 a day

The collapse of Arcadia in the lead-up to Christmas, and with it the demise of Sir Philip Green’s controversial reign over the UK high street, has a Dickensian feel to it. Over the years, Green has embodied the role of billionaire boss, brazenly handing his wife a tax-free £1.2bn dividend in 2005 (four times the actual annual profits made by the company), while relaxing on his luxury yacht in Monaco. He has rarely showed concern for the workers propping up his empire.

The stark prospect of 13,000 workers losing their jobs and an estimated £350m pensions deficit during a global pandemic is more than enough to constitute the bleak reality of Christmas present, and Arcadia’s collapse will send further shockwaves throughout the fashion industry. Already, news has emerged that Debenhams faces liquidation as JD Sports pulled out of rescue talks, a knock-on effect following the closure of Arcadia’s concession outlets in the department retailer.

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Global stock markets gain as investors predict cautious Federal Reserve – business live

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Central banks in spotlight amid Brexit uncertainty and growth concerns

The Bank’s reticence to raise rates has been hinted at by Gertjan Vlieghe and Silvana Tenreyro, two of the nine-member monetary policy committee.

Weaker growth prospects have come on top of concerns about Brexit, according to Martin Beck, lead UK economist at Oxford Economics, a consultancy. He expects a 9-0 vote to keep policy unchanged, saying:

The economy’s recent performance has been broadly in line with the MPC’s expectations. But public pronouncements by some committee members on downside risks have indicated a dovish shift around the pace of future rate hikes.

In light of the continued failure to get a Brexit deal through Parliament, Brexit uncertainty remains a key block on action by the MPC.

The Bank of England will also be in action later this week, with a monetary policy announcement on Thursday at midday.

Anything other than a unanimous vote to keep interest rates on hold would be a shock, for fairly obvious reasons.

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