LONDON — Belstaff’s new owners are moving quickly: Gavin Haig is out as chief executive officer and will be succeeded by Helen Wright, the former ceo at Anya Hindmarch.
Ineos, which purchased Belstaff last fall for an undisclosed price, also said Sarah Doukas will join the Belstaff board. Doukas is the founder and manager of Storm Management, the modeling agency.
The company said Haig was stepping down by mutual consent and with immediate effect.
Wright served as Hindmarch’s ceo for two years, and before that was global vice-president of retail at Karl Lagerfeld. She also spent three years at Fendi as president of Europe, the Middle East and India, and has also worked in management roles at Ralph Lauren and Bamford.
Hutson, former chairman of Soho House, is currently ceo and chairman of Lime Wood Group and Home-Grown Hotels, of which Jim Ratcliffe is a major owner-shareholder. Ratcliffe is the founder-owner of Ineos, the petrochemicals giant and Britain’s largest private company.
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Hutson said Ineos “sees great potential to revitalize and grow the business. There is enormous depth of talent and passion within the Belstaff management team and the company’s long-standing and valued suppliers. We aim to support and empower this talent with the required level of investment over the years ahead.”
He also thanked Haig for his work on the brand.
Belstaff was the second brand in the JAB stable to find a suitor following the sale of Jimmy Choo to Michael Kors for $1.2 billion last year. Only Bally remains.
According to Bloomberg earlier this week, the frontrunner to buy Bally is Shandong Ruyi Group, the Chinese textiles giant and owner of Trinity Ltd., parent of Kent & Curwen, Gieves & Hawkes and Cerruti 1881. Bally has declined to comment on the sale process.
Earlier this year, the multinational JAB, which owns beauty and consumer goods giants Coty, Inc., and Reckitt Benckiser, revealed its decision to divest its luxury businesses, including the publicly listed Jimmy Choo and the privately held Belstaff and Bally.
At the time of the sale to Ineos, Haig said the company met with a wide range of potential buyers from around the world, ranging from private equity to trade to entrepreneurs, and chose Ineos because it believes it will be “a great custodian and a good home” for the brand.