Latest news with #Athron
Fashion United
30-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Walpole names Fortnum & Mason CEO as chair
Luxury trade association Walpole has named Tom Athron as its new chair, a role he will take up from July 1. Athron, who currently serves as chief executive of Fortnum & Mason, will succeed Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, who is stepping down after finishing the maximum tenure of nine years. Ward will continue on in the newly created advisory role of president Emeritus. In a statement, Athron said of his appointment: 'It is a privilege to take on the role of chair at Walpole. I look forward to working closely with chief executive Helen Brocklebank, the board and our members to continue advancing Walpole's mission to promote, protect and develop the British luxury sector both in the UK and internationally.' Athron has helmed Fornum & Mason since December 2020, prior to which he served as chief operating officer at MatchesFashion, where he led the global scaling of the business. He had also spent 13 years at John Lewis Partnership, where he held several senior positions, including on the main board. His appointment at Walpole comes at a turbulent time for the UK's luxury sector, which has faced impact from the pandemic, the removal of VAT-free shopping, Brexit and other supply chain disruptions. In the organisation's latest report, 'Trading with Europe', it was stated that while the sector is projected to reach 125 billion pounds by 2028, fashion and accessories from the UK experienced a 64 percent decline in exports to the EU. Walpole thus called on the UK government to mitigate such impact by initiating a number of strategies, including the introduction of a new digital labelling scheme, to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin, secure a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement and bring together freight companies to create consistency in trade rules.
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Fortnum & Mason warns of higher prices from Trump tariffs
Donald Trump's tariffs will push up prices for American shoppers, the boss of Fortnum & Mason has warned, as the US president prepares to introduce sweeping new levies on Wednesday. Tom Athron, the chief executive of the Royal grocer, said retailers were operating on 'wafer-thin margins' and so any new tariffs would 'feed through into prices'. He said: 'Ultimately it will be the consumer who pays. No one wins in a trade war. All that happens is that prices go up and productivity falls. I think it's really disappointing that we find ourselves in this situation.' Mr Athron comments did not relate to Fortnum & Mason in particular, and were a broader warning over the risk of trade tariffs. The company is not currently planning to push up prices in the UK or prices for items it exports, with Mr Athron saying it was 'too early to say' what the specific impact would be on the luxury grocer. Fortnum & Mason, which holds two Royal warrants, has recently been expanding into the US and Mr Athron said it remained 'a really important market for us, both welcoming visitors to our shops from the US as well as exporting directly to US customers in their market'. In 2023, the company unveiled plans to open its first warehouse in America stocked with popular British staples such as tea and jams. At the time, Mr Athron said Fortnum & Mason could even open a store in the US one day. The Fortnum boss said there were no plans to slow down growth in the US in light of the tariff threat, but suggested things could quickly change. 'Ask me again in six months' time,' he said. Mr Athron said he was 'playing a waiting game'. Mr Trump was promised to introduce blanket tariffs on foreign imports from Wednesday, dubbing it 'liberation day'. This will be on top of the $890bn (£690bn) worth of imports on specific goods, such as steel and aluminium, and on select countries, including China, that the US president has already announced. Jonathan Reynolds, Britain's Business Secretary, admitted on Tuesday that Britain was likely to be hit by the levies – which are expected to be around 20pc – after last-minute talks to secure an exemption failed. However, he suggested that the UK was in the 'best possible position of any country' to negotiate carve-outs after the tariffs are announced. Around 72pc of Americans are concerned about rising prices in the short term, according to polling. Mr Trump has insisted he is not concerned about tariffs stoking inflation. Over the weekend, he told NBC News that if foreign carmakers raised prices in response to new vehicle tariffs, then it would mean 'people are going to buy American-made cars – we have plenty'.
