Morleys appoints new CEO

Morleys has appointed Allan Winstanley as CEO, and he will start the role in January 2025.

Winstanley will take the reins following Blow’s resignation in July, after he was CEO for eight years. Blow, who was a former Harrods executive, was appointed CEO of Fenwicks but says the position was withdrawn two weeks before he was due to start.

Morleys was founded in 1880. Today, it comprises eight department stores, seven of which are in and around Greater London.

Winstanley will take the helm of Morleys having returned to the UK after working with Myer department stores in Australia, where he co-led the turnaround of the business. Before that, he worked with Sears in the US, De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands and 10 years with House of Fraser in the UK.

He began his career with British high street retailer Marks & Spencer and his previous directorships have been with The British Fashion Council and The UK Fragrance Foundation.

In July, Drapers and other media reported Blow had been offered the top job at Fenwick, the UK's largest family-owned department store business. However, on Wednesday 2 October, a Fenwick spokesperson said: “In July 2024, we announced that we would be appointing Nigel Blow as CEO of Fenwick. Nigel Blow has informed us that he will no longer be taking up this position.”

In a statement, Blow said: "I am shocked that Fenwick has withdrawn its offer of the CEO position to me, just two weeks before I was due to start on 17 October and after several weeks of me meeting many Fenwick executives and shareholders in preparation for joining."