Manju Malhotra steps down as CEO at luxury store Harvey Nichols

HARVEY NICHOLS’ chief executive Manju Malhotra is not leaving due to an alleged dispute with the store’s shareholder as extensively reported by the media.

“The Group would like to reiterate that this is incorrect,” a Harvey Nichols spokesperson told the Euro Weekly News on August 15.

“The departure is on amicable terms with Manju working her notice period to ensure a smooth transition.

“It is also incorrect that Harvey Nichols is owned by Dickson Concepts, which is a listed company in Hong Kong. Harvey Nichols is owned by Sir Dickson Poon in his private capacity,” the statement continued.

“Any investment made in Harvey Nichols in recent years is from Sir Dickson Poon in a private capacity, and not Dickson Concepts.”

Having joined Harvey Nichols in 1998 as a newly-qualified chartered accountant, Manju Malhotra held several roles prior to becoming Group Finance Director in 2010.

She was promoted to the role of co-chief Operating Officer in 2018, with joint responsibility for leading the business before promotion to chief executive in January 2020.

“I have had the most amazing 25 years at Harvey Nichols,” she said. “I have been fortunate to work with many wonderfully talented people and partners both in the UK and internationally.

“Together, we have galvanised Harvey Nichols, leveraging its position in the market as a luxury destination delivering exceptional in-store and digital customer experiences.”

“Manju will remain in her role until the end of 2023,” the store’s spokesperson said.

“Meanwhile, Pearson Poon, Harvey Nichols’ executive director, has been promoted to the role of vice-chairman. He will lead the business and work closely with Manju until the appointment of her replacement.”

Sir Dickson Poon, Harvey Nichols chairman thanked Malhotra for her loyalty over the years and her leadership since becoming chief executive.

“Manju has been instrumental in driving the business through unprecedented times and laid strong foundations which we will continue to build on for the future,” he said.

Harvey Nichols has fought to return to the black since the pandemic and its most recent accounts reveal that between May 2021 and May 2022, the store accumulated losses of £30 million (€34.97 million), compared with a pre-Covid profit of £2.7 million (€3.15 million).

Revenues during this same period totalled £192 million (€223.88 million), compared with £121 million (€141.09 million) in 2020-2021. This nevertheless failed to match the £222 million (€258.86) for the year to March 2020, shortly before Covid forced stores to close.

Malhotra’s parents arrived from India in the 1960s and started up a fashion business in Brick Lane in London’s East End, a world away from Knightsbridge and Harvey Nichols.

As a teenager she explained that she helped out in the shop at the weekends and in the holidays but stressed that education “was so important in my house, growing up” and there was never any question about her going to university.

“I was lucky to have parents who actively encouraged that,” she told an interviewer not long before she stepped down.