Christos Angelides’ appointment as chief executive of Reiss certainly piqued the sector’s interest this morning.

Angelides, who has spent the vast majority of his career at Next, will arrive at the retailer at the end of March.

He’ll take on the mantle of chief executive from founder David Reiss, who will continue in his role as chairman.

The move comes just a week since it emerged that M&S had also courted Angelides, as its new boss Steve Rowe looks to inject fresh impetus into its sluggish clothing and home division.

At the time, Angelides was spoken of as being a perfect fit for the high street stalwart, which has a similar customer base and remit as Next.

Retail Week understands that Angelides was sorely tempted by the M&S job and that the decision to instead plump for the top job at Reiss was not an easy one.

Fashion history

Angelides arrived at Next in 1986 as general manager of its sourcing office in Hong Kong and worked his way up the business before departing in 2014.

By that time, he held the role of group product director, with responsibility across womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and homewares.

Angelides left the retailer in which he made he name to take on a big challenge - turning around struggling US fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. However, after an ultimately unsuccessful year he returned to the UK and swiftly took on a non-executive role at French Connection, a post from which he will now step down at the end of February.

He arrives at Reiss as the business nears the end of a three-year growth plan, which has boosted its bottom line.

It reported strong Christmas trading, with total sales up 19.7% in the six weeks to January 7, while its gross margin “remained robust” – something that its fashion rivals may have had to sacrifice in order to maintain strong like-for-like figures.

In its last full-year figures, for the year ending January 31, 2016, Reiss boasted a 55.9% surge in pre-tax profit to £17.8m, as sales swelled from £111m to £124m.

The results marked a stark contrast to trading three years ago, when the retailer slumped into the red after investing heavily in its online business and overseas markets.

Its next phase of growth will be funded by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, which acquired a majority stake in the retailer from David Reiss in a £100m deal last April.

Angelides’ challenge will be to power that growth. In a market in which many fashion retailers are running just to stand still, it represents a tall order.

But speak to anybody who knows Angelides well and you quickly realise how keenly he is admired.

Emotional intelligence

He is widely renowned as a product guru who made Next what it is today, but his leadership skills are also highlighted as a key strength.

“He is absolutely outstanding,” headhunter Moira Benigson says. “He is excellent on product, but he also has great influencing skills. He is not political though – he is a real ally.”

Retail expert Richard Hyman believes that his leadership style is a rare one.

“He is collegiate,” he says. “He is a good listener and very good with people – warm and outgoing with a good sense of humour. He has real emotional intelligence, but he is also the kind of leader people will follow.”

Hyman thinks that leadership style will be useful when negotiating Reiss’ ownership structure.

“Warburg now need to give him room to breathe,” he asserts. “Private equity are notorious for wanting a business tempo which is out of kilter with reality, but hopefully they will have the sense.”

Following its turnaround, Reiss is now at a crucial juncture.

It sits in a group of retailers with very mixed fortunes. Ted Baker, Jigsaw, French Connection and Jaeger, along with Whistles and Phase 8, are in very different places.

And Reiss has only recently transitioned into the more successful camp, having spent a significant amount of time in the doldrums.

Angelides’ remit is to kick growth up a gear, transforming the retailer into a “global brand” – focusing on North America, Asia and Australia – with investment from Warburg behind it. 

His experience in Hong Kong when he first joined Next and his recent stint at Abercrombie & Fitch should come in handy here.

While he ultimately left after just less than one year, he takes the experience of heading up the struggling business with him.

One source termed his time there “an interesting learning experience”, putting his departure down to a culture clash.

While his time at Next was characterised by an unmarred parade of successes, Angelides will have learned crucial lessons from his time at Abercrombie about the challenging US market.

Powering growth in multiple markets when the sentiment at home is set to become tougher than ever is a big ask. But if anyone can do it, Angelides can.