LONDON — Anya Hindmarch has added to her growing list of titles, becoming managing director of her namesake company, which last month was sold to the Marandi family.
Hindmarch will continue in her role as creative director, and remains a member of the board. She will run the company once again, reprising a role she held until 2011, when she made way for her then-chief executive officer James McArthur.
As reported last month, Narmina and Javad Marandi purchased Mayhoola for Investments’ majority stake in the Hindmarch business. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hindmarch, the founder and a minority shareholder, takes the helm of the company after witnessing a revolving door of managers under Mayhoola: Four different ceos ran Anya Hindmarch Ltd. from 2012, when Mayhoola originally took its stake.
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The sale to the Marandis comes on the heels of a big restructuring under Mayhoola that saw Hindmarch pare losses and boost profits despite the string of management changes.
Hindmarch said Wednesday: “In a rapidly changing retail and global environment, it’s time for businesses to be brave and decisive. We have been transforming our business model since 2017, taking advantage of our strengths in creativity, experiential and direct-to-consumer, and I’m incredibly excited for the next phase.”
As reported last October, sales fell and losses widened at Anya Hindmarch in the 12 months to Dec. 31, 2017. Turnover was down 10 percent to 37.2 million pounds, while pretax losses more than doubled to 28.2 million pounds, compared with the previous year, according to numbers filed at Companies House, the latest register of U.K. businesses.
In a bid to sharpen up its retail portfolio, the company also closed eight of its smaller stores and concessions in the U.K. and Japan, including ones at House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols in 2017. Anya Hindmarch has 33 points of sale, including flagships, concessions and franchises, in prime locations across the U.K., the U.S. and Asia.
Last year saw a strategy shift for the business, which decided to forgo fashion shows in favor of consumer-facing presentations, events and projects, plus a see-now, buy-now strategy. In February during London Fashion Week, Hindmarch invited visitors to climb inside gigantic versions of her new Neeson woven tote bag. Craftsmen were on hand weaving the bags, which can also be customized.