Will new CEO be able to rescue FNG?

Ailing fashion group FNG (Brantano, Miss Etam) rearranges its board of directors. Former Flemish television boss Paul Lembrechts becomes CEO ad interim.

Different options on the table

The fashion group replaces its entire board. Co-founders Anja Maes and Manu Bracke are thanked, also interim manager Yves Pollé has to leave after only a few weeks. Richard Turk, the managing director of FNG Netherlands, and Nathasja Van Bael, the group’s CFO, will join the board. Paul Lembrechts, former ceo of Flemish television VRT, is appointed Chief Executive Officer ad interim. The composition of the Boards of Directors of the group companies will also be adjusted in the coming days.
 

It seems that the group wants to draw a line under the past and restore relations with trade unions and other stakeholders. After all, a great deal of distrust had arisen, partly because many stories came out about potentially fraudulent manoeuvres in the past. The leakage of the list of stores to be closed also led to indignation on the part of the joint trade union front.
 

FNG says it regrets the reports of the past few weeks and strives for complete transparency about the past. The group will publish all information at its disposal in the 2019 annual report. “The group’s management worked hard on a recovery plan, with various options still on the table. It is the group’s intention to safeguard the continuity of the group as much as possible. From this perspective, it was necessary to provide for the replacement of the members of the Executive Board during a transition period.”