Primark and Boohoo CEOs top Drapers’ 100 most powerful people in fashion retail for 2019
Fashion publication selects individuals 'who have shaped the industry' for annual power list
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Your support makes all the difference.The CEOs for fashion heavyweights Primark and Boohoo have come out on top in Drapers‘ annual list of the most powerful individuals in fashion retail in the UK.
The list, the fashion publication states, includes 100 entrants “who have shaped the industry in 2019”.
This year’s list features 44 new entries, including Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton‘s menswear collection; Marie-Claire Deveu, Kering‘s chief sustainability officer; and Michael Kliger, CEO and president of women’s luxury brand Mytheresa.
A sustainability section has also been included in the list for the first time, in order to recognise the “growing awareness of the environmental and social impact of fashion retail”.
“From Primark’s Paul Marchant opening the world’s biggest store in Birmingham to Mike Ashley snapping up Jack Wills and vying for control of Debenhams, the Power 100 begins with those who have exerted the biggest influence on the high street in 2019,” Drapers outlines.
“Showing unwavering leadership, these retailers are aggressively opening stores and buying rivals. Some have navigated a stormy year better than others, but the industry continues to watch their every move.”
The Power List is compiled by the publication’s editorial list, who take several factors into account.
These factors include the trading performance of fashion retail brands, in addition to each person’s individual influence on the fashion industry.
Well-known firms including Arcadia Group and Ted Baker have been omitted from the list, while the people in positions of leadership at some of the biggest companies have “remained largely stable” on the ranking.
In Drapers‘ summary about Primark’s CEO Marchant, the publication explains that 2019 was a “year of celebration” for the budget fashion retailer, marking the company’s 50th year of trading.
“One of fashion’s most respected leaders, Marchant’s strategy of focusing on bricks-and-mortar expansion has continued to pay off,” it states, citing Primark’s revenue increase of £7.8bn for the year to 14 September.
Here are the top 10 entrants on Drapers’ 2019 Power 100 list:
- Paul Marchant, CEO of Primark
- John Lyttle and Mahmud Kamani, joint CEO and chief executive of Boohoo Group respectively
- Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports Fashion
- Mike Ashley, CEO of Sports Direct International
- Pablo Isla, CEO of Inditex
- Simon Forster, managing director of Selfridges
- Lord Wolfson, CEO of Next
- Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH
- David Schneider, co-CEO of Zalando
- Daniel Lee, creative director of Bottega Veneta
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