Company denies GHD boss's departure due to falling sales
Following the departure of Martin Penny, group MD of Jemella Group, the parent company of hair styling brand GHD, the company has denied that it was due to a downturn in sales figures.
Penny, who led the £160m MBO in July 2007 for the Leeds-based business left just before Christmas last year and it had been rumoured that this was due to poor sales of its GHD products.
A spokesperson for the business denied this, saying: “The business is trading very well and overall it is experiencing a double digit sales growth. It is trading in line with its sales plan and has a very low amount of debt and is in good shape. The reading for the board’s decision with Martin Penny was that they felt it was for the good of the company.”
It has been reported that other members of the board have taken over Penny’s responsibilities in the meantime until a successor is announced.
Despite this, an industry insider has claimed that the company is struggling to continue to sell its products.
Said the insider: "It's clear to see that the brand now struggles to sell its core iron without being on promotion, which is an expensive if not fatal position to be in for any brand. Also, for the first time the mainstream press, which over the years have been staunchly pro GHD, have now started to actively dissent at its gimmicky and over frequent changes of colour and more so its price when, especially in today's market, there are equally good irons out there for a third of the price."