Footasylum appoints David Pujolar as CEO as Barry Bown steps into consultancy role

Footasylum has appointed David Pujolar as CEO as Executive Chairman and CEO, Barry Bown, steps down and takes up a consultancy role with its parent company, Aurelius.

Pujolar joins from AW LAB, a multi-brand, multi-channel streetwear, sportswear and lifestyle retailer, where he has been general manager since 2016. He replaces industry veteran Bown, who joined Footasylum in 2018 and, prior to that, spent 30 years at JD Sports, the last 14 of which were as CEO.

Bown has steered Footasylum through a challenging period that covered the pandemic, a sale to JD Sports in 2019 that was later nixed by the Competitions and Markets Authority and which had to be unravelled, and the eventual sale to private equity house Aurelius in August of last year.

Despite the tumult, the business achieved strong results in FY24 with sales up 7% to £320 million and EBITDA up by 38% to £22 million, an "all time high". The business also opened several new stores during the period, including a 20,000 sq ft flagship store on Oxford Street, as well as a string of other digitally-led openings and up-sizings at atria Watford, Westfield Stratford City, Birmingham Bullring, Lakeside Shopping Centre, and Leeds White Rose.

Footasylum Oxford Street

Speaking of his decision to stand down, Bown said: “Footasylum is an incredible business and I’ve been privileged to lead it for nearly six years. It has been rewarding and challenging in equal measure and, under AURELIUS’s ownership, we now have exceptionally strong foundations and a clear strategy for future growth. Today, Footasylum is profitable, expanding rapidly, and has a prominent presence on high streets and in iconic retail destinations across the UK. Against that backdrop, the time is right for me to step aside from the day-to-day running of the business, almost 40 years after I first started out in this industry.

“I am delighted that someone of David’s calibre will take up the role of CEO and am confident that he is the right person to take charge of Footasylum’s exciting next chapter. I also have no doubt that the incredible leadership team I leave behind will support him in taking the business to new heights. I am looking forward to providing support to the business through my new consultancy role with AURELIUS.”

His replacement comes from AW LAB, which has more than 270 shops in Italy, Spain and Portugal, and is part of the Bata Group, a world leader in the footwear industry. During his time there, Pujolar led AW LAB’s global expansion across retail, e-commerce and franchising, developed and implemented a new omnichannel web platform, added tools such as Artificial Intelligence and Power Business Intelligence, and also created AW LAB's loyalty club membership which today has over three million members.

Of his new role, he said: “Footasylum is a business that I’ve admired for many years. It has a distinctive proposition, a loyal customer base, and an exciting portfolio of innovative and trendsetting brands. Barry, AURELIUS, and the wider team have done an excellent job in building Footasylum into a leading streetwear retailer and disruptive entertainment company, and I am looking forward to continuing their good work.”