Superdry confirms departure of Chief Operating Officer

Superdry Chief Operating Officer Silvana Bonello is stepping down from her role as the business looks to gather finance from investors.

Bonello has worked at Superdry since March 2021, where she has directed strategic planning, deployment, and execution across all channels, including digital, retail and wholesale.

Prior to this, she served as Vice President Planning and Operations at Vans from January 2019. In this role, she led seasonal planning and execution at the VF Corp-owned brand across the EMEA region.

A spokesperson for Superdry told TheIndustry.fashion: "We can confirm Silvana is leaving the business. We thank her for her contribution to Superdry and wish her all the best for the future."

Silvana Bonello

The news comes after Superdry said it is holding “positive” talks with investors over an equity raise of up to 20% as it looks to shore up its balance sheet in the face of tough trading.

The brand said its founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton plans to “significantly” take part in the equity raise and offer a “material underwriting commitment”.

This follows reports that Superdry was in advanced talks over a £15 million share sale to bolster its finances.

The move marks its latest efforts to raise cash after it unveiled a deal to sell its intellectual property assets in Asia-Pacific to raise £34 million. Superdry is also slashing costs, recently announcing aims to save more than £35 million, amid sales woes.

Earlier this month, it warned over profits for the second time this year after it admitted sales in February and March were disappointing. Cost-of-living pressures had impacted consumer spending and visits to shops, whilst poor weather weakened demand for its new SS23 collection, the business told investors at the time.

Superdry said it plans to cut costs through actions such as “estate optimisation”, which could indicate store changes or closures, as well as logistics and distribution savings and continuing to reduce its clothing range. The savings are expected to be made by the end of the 2024 financial year.

Read TheIndustry.fashion's recent interview with the CEO of Superdry, Julian Dunkerton.