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LONDON, United Kingdom — Mulberry Group Plc said Bruno Guillon will step down as chief executive officer after two years during which the British luxury handbag maker lost two-thirds of its market value.
Guillon, who joined Mulberry from Hermes International SCA in March 2012, will leave immediately, Somerset, England-based Mulberry said today in a statement. Former CEO Godfrey Davis, the company’s non-executive chairman, will become executive chairman until a successor is found, Mulberry said.
Guillon’s plan to raise prices and expand Mulberry globally failed to resonate with consumers. In January, Mulberry said profit would be substantially below estimates because of weak sales in the U.K. and order cancellations in South Korea.
Mulberry creative director Emma Hill, who was credited with driving the company’s growth with bags such as the Alexa, quit last year after disagreeing with Guillon on strategy, a person familiar with the situation said at the time.
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The shares fell 2.1 percent to 636.5 pence yesterday in London. They have slumped 67 percent since Guillon joined.
By: Andrew Roberts
