Sir Brian Leveson’s first report to the Boohoo board has praised the group’s actions so far to reform its supply chain but said there is still “a long way to go”.
The report said Boohoo “has enthusiastically started the journey and is travelling along the right road”.
Leveson detailed the progress Boohoo has made so far against its “Agenda for Change”, including the creation of a compliance committee, the appointment of two independent non-executive directors and the commencement of an audit of its Leicester suppliers.
The report confirmed Boohoo has dropped 64 of its suppliers in the last three months that did not comply with its ethical terms.
Leveson hinted there could be some issues in Boohoo’s management team getting on board with the new buying processes.
He said: “With nine different brands, encouraged to differentiate themselves, it is perhaps inevitable that there are differing views among leaders of companies and departments in the group as to the meaning to them of the Agenda for Change.
“A clear explanation of what the programme involves and how it affects the entire business is therefore essential.
“It is important to set a shared clear vision of the future, reinforcing the ethics and compliance agenda through corporate change and to announce what Boohoo will look like after implementation of Agenda for Change.
“This must be clearly articulated by the board and cascaded from the top of the group to the most junior staff. Failure to do so will pose a risk to the progress and ultimate success of the programme.”
Leveson added: “The board must also be alert to the pressure on management to devise and implement change.
“Those driving the change must ensure there is resilience in the team that supports them both to maintain momentum and to manage business as usual.
“The team is growing but it must be sufficient both to deliver the critical ‘hearts and minds’ campaign but also to deal with the challenges facing buying decisions alongside necessary ethical compliance so that all of the issues can be addressed.”
Boohoo appointed Leveson to independently oversee the Agenda for Change programme in November, implementing the suggestions made by Alison Levitt QC’s review.
Levitt’s review into Boohoo’s Leicester supply chain was published in September after the fast-fashion retailer was accused of underpaying its workers and unsatisfactory working conditions.
The review suggested Boohoo would need to execute a significant cultural shift if it is to solve the issues in its supply chain. Leveson’s observations show that this has not yet been achieved across the Boohoo team.
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