Fashion retailer New Look has appointed a new chief executive and reported improved profitability in the first quarter.
New Look has promoted Lynda Petherick to become chief executive. She was formerly chief operating officer, having joined the retailer in 2024 as chief information officer, and succeeds Helen Connolly in the role – who is leaving to head George at Asda.
New Look also said it achieved EBITDA of £17.4m in the first quarter – an uplift of £1.8m – as it made “continued progress in becoming a more customer-led, data-driven business”. The quarterly performance followed a strong full-year result for 2026 when EBITDA surged to £36.6m from £14.3m.
Petherick was previously a managing director at Accenture’s retail and fashion advisory business in the UK and Ireland, working on “business transformation and the use of technology to improve commercial performance and customer experience”.
Since joining New Look in 2024, she has overseen its digital transformation, “driving operational improvements and accelerating the use of data and technology”.
New Look also reported that Club New Look, its loyalty programme, now has more than a million members.
The retailer has also launched New Look Pulse, a proprietary customer insight and business forecasting platform that brings together “millions of data points across customers, products, stores, loyalty, discounting, marketing and the wider market, creating a single, real-time view of the business”. It enables “faster, more accurate decision-making across demand forecasting, product and range planning, pricing and markdown, customer engagement, marketing, store investment and capital allocation”.
New Look chair Mike Coupe said: “New Look is in a stronger position than it has been for many years. The strength of our FY 2026 outturn, together with our first-quarter performance, positive customer response to our product and the continued growth of Club New Look, demonstrates the momentum across the business.
“The board is delighted to appoint Lynda as chief executive. She combines strong commercial judgement and operational discipline with a deep understanding of our customers, our brand and the role that data and technology will play in our future. As COO she knows the business extremely well, has already made a significant impact and has a clear vision for its next phase.”
“With Lynda as chief executive, a strong platform in place and clear momentum in our customer proposition, New Look is well positioned to build on its progress and realise the significant opportunity ahead.”
Petherick, who formally succeeds Connolly in September, said: “New Look is a fantastic brand, with a clear position in the market, millions of loyal customers and talented colleagues who care passionately about its success.”
“Over the past two years, we have made significant progress in strengthening the business and becoming a faster, more data-led and customer-focused organisation. The encouraging response to our recent product and collections, the growth of Club New Look and the launch of Pulse give us a powerful platform from which to deepen customer relationships and make better commercial decisions.”
“I am excited about what New Look can achieve and look forward to working with our brilliant teams to build on the strong progress already made and deliver the next phase of sustainable, profitable growth.”
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