boohoo group plc Response to media commentary (0571S)
July 06 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBOO
RNS Number : 0571S
boohoo group plc
06 July 2020
For Immediate Release 6 July 2020
boohoo group plc
("boohoo" or "the Group")
Response to media commentary
boohoo remains committed to supporting UK manufacturing and is
determined to drive up standards where this is required. Where help
and support for improvement is required, we have and will continue
to provide it, to ensure that everyone working to produce clothing
in our supply chain is properly remunerated, fairly treated and
safe at work. We will not hesitate to immediately terminate
relationships with any supplier who is found not to be acting
within both the letter and spirit of our supplier code of conduct.
This includes very clear expectations on transparency about second
tier suppliers.
We are grateful to The Sunday Times for highlighting the
conditions at Jaswal Fashions, which, if as observed and reported
by the undercover reporter, are totally unacceptable and fall
woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace. Our
early investigations have revealed that Jaswal Fashions is not a
declared supplier and is also no longer trading as a garment
manufacturer. It therefore appears that a different company is
using Jaswal's former premises and we are currently trying to
establish the identity of this company. We are taking immediate
action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their
hands, will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working
with this company, and we will urgently review our relationship
with any suppliers who have sub-contracted work to the manufacturer
in question.
We are keen and willing to work with local officials to raise
standards because we are absolutely committed to eradicating any
instance of non-compliance and to ensuring that the actions of a
few do not continue to undermine the excellent work of many of our
suppliers in the area, who provide good jobs and good working
conditions.
The Group has undertaken a number of actions in recent times to
further strengthen its teams, procedures and processes, which are
outlined below. The Group will continue to review and progress
these in the future.
-- Appointed our first Sustainability Director last year with a focus on developing the Group's sustainability initiatives and supply chain governance, with further strengthening of the team currently taking place;
-- Introduced in 2019 industry-leading 14 day payment terms for our UK manufacturers;
-- Retained in late 2019 an independent third party compliance
organisation to strengthen our compliance and auditing
programme;
-- Commenced earlier this year a review of all Tier One and Tier
Two UK suppliers, which includes a full audit of all of our
suppliers' manufacturing facilities. This audit process is being
carried out in accordance with the Group's existing procedures and
standards, including the mapping of people records and hours worked
back to the electronic payment of wages into bank accounts to
ensure full compliance with minimum wage regulations. The Group
continues to look at ways to further strengthen its audit
procedures and processes.
-- A requirement for UK suppliers as part of our review of the
UK supply base is to acknowledge the Group's code of conduct and
provide full disclosure of their own manufacturing locations and
details of any manufacturers where work is sub-contracted.
Non-compliance with this programme will not be tolerated.
-ends-
Enquiries
boohoo group plc
Neil Catto, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +44 (0)161 233
2050
Alistair Davies, Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0)161 233
2050
Clara Melia, Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 3289
5520
Zeus Capital - Nominated adviser and joint
broker
Nick Cowles/Andrew Jones (Corporate Finance) Tel: +44 (0)161 831
1512
John Goold/Benjamin Robertson (Corporate Tel: +44 (0)20 3829
Broking) 5000
Jefferies - Joint broker
Philip Noblet/Max Jones Tel: +44 (0)20 7029
8000
Buchanan - Financial PR adviser boohoo@buchanan.uk.com
Richard Oldworth/ Kim Looringh-van Beeck/Toto Tel: +44 (0)20 7466
Berger 5000
About boohoo group plc
"Leading the fashion eCommerce market"
Founded in Manchester in 2006, boohoo is an inclusive and
innovative brand targeting young, value-orientated customers. Since
2006, boohoo has been pushing boundaries to bring its customers
up-to-date and inspirational fashion, 24/7. boohoo has grown
rapidly in the UK and internationally, expanding its offering with
range extensions into menswear, through boohooMAN.
In early 2017 the group extended its customer offering through
the acquisitions of the vibrant fashion brand PrettyLittleThing,
and free-thinking brand Nasty Gal. In March 2019 the group acquired
the MissPap brand, in August 2019 the Karen Millen and Coast
brands, and in June 2020 the Warehouse and Oasis brands, all
complementary to the group's scalable multi-brand platform. United
by a shared customer value proposition, our brands design, source,
market and sell great quality clothes, shoes and accessories at
unbeatable prices. These investment propositions have helped us
grow from a single brand, into a major multi-brand online retailer,
leading the fashion eCommerce market for 16 to 40-year-olds around
the world. As at 29 February 2020, the boohoo group had just under
14 million active customers across all its brands around the
world.
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END
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