Carol Kane bets big on Boohoo under new chief John Lyttle

CO-FOUNDER of British internet fashion firm, Boohoo, aims big to boost her company business after she stepped down as chief executive recently.  

Carol Kane, 52, stepped down six weeks ago after John Lyttle, former chief operating officer at Primark, joined as the chief of the fashion group. 

Commenting on the top appointment, Kane was quoted in The Telegraph: “John is not from an ecommerce background”. He’s from traditional bricks and mortar and that skill and knowledge needs passing on.

“We’ve brought in John to help with the next phase of growth,” she says.  

“Coming from Primark, he has worked in a much larger organisation and it will give Mahmud and me the opportunity to be able to focus on new areas for the group and to work where our strengths lie.”

British Asian, Mahmud Kamani and Kane jointly founded Boohoo in 2006.  

Kane still has four per cent stake worth £112 million, while Kamani has about 18 per cent stake in the firm. 

Kamani is now executive chairman, while Kane is executive director of the fashion firm. 

Manchester head-quartered business currently employs 3,000 staff. 

Latest financial data released by the company showed a 38 per cent rise in the pre-tax profit to £59.9 million when other online fashion firms were seen struggling to raise their business amid gloomy market conditions. 

Kane describes her brand as a top supplier of clothes fulfilling the current fashion requirement of British youths. She further says her company caters the needs of “all body types and all types of girls from plus to petite.”

She signals that her brand is looking for new acquisition in the future. Commenting on the past performance Kane noted “over the last 12 months we’ve had more than enough on our plate.”

Boohoo provides a unique experience to its customer. As many as 1,000 new products arriving every week on firm’s website.  

Kane says it is very difficult to execute that level of newness and freshness in bricks-and-mortar stores.