Matches COO exits to take up DHL role

Luxury fashion e-tailer matches has had a new owner since December and now it may be on the hunt for a new COO too with news that Stuart Hill is leaving the firm.

He’s headed for a very different company and an enhanced role as he’s set to become CEO at logistics giant DHL’s British ops.

He said on LinkedIn: “This week I start a new role as CEO of DHL e-commerce UK. I am looking forward to leading the company through the next phase of growth and overseeing the opening of the company’s second hub in Coventry later this year.

“I am looking forward to re-engaging with the world of parcel delivery, in a company recognised for its unparalleled breadth and scale as we forge ahead with expansion.”

It’s not yet known whether Frasers will seek a direct replacement for Hill or will seek to restructure the senior team at Matches.

Hill has been at the e-tailer for 18 months, before which he was at Farfetch, first as VP of logistics and later as SVP. That Farfetch experience was clearly key in the eyes of DHL, as was his time as head of customer logistics and international operations at ASOS and his stint at John Lewis.

Matches was acquired by Frasers Group in December as it urgently sought a rescuer, becoming only the latest of a number of luxury fashion e-tailers to struggle to achieve profitability.

It bought the company for just £52 million from Apax, which was a fraction of the price the private equity giant had paid to buy the business from its founders last decade. It’s believed Apax paid around £800 million for it in 2017.

In the latest year for which Matches results are available (the 12 months to January 2023), it made a loss of over £33 million.