More than 拢1.5bn has been wiped off boohoo鈥檚 valuation after a string of leading retailers dropped its clothes from their websites.听
Next听and听Zalando听will no longer sell garments produced by the fast fashion giant听following a damning Sunday Times investigation into conditions at a factory听where they were packed.
Asos and听Very.co.uk听have听temporarily suspended听the sale of boohoo items听while an听investigation is carried out.
Amazon also released a statement to say it had suspended the sale of boohoo brands. However only a few historical items are listed on Amazon’s fashion site and a representative of听boohoo group told 老九品茶Cloud it听does not听list its products with Amazon and has not done听so听for several years.
Manchester-headquartered boohoo said it would launch an immediate independent review of its UK supply chain, led by Alison Levitt QC, and听invest 拢10m 鈥渢o eradicate supply chain malpractice鈥�.听
On Wednesday morning boohoo鈥檚 market cap听stood at 拢3.2听billion, more than 拢1.5bn听down on听last week before the undercover newspaper report was published.听
Next鈥檚听decision was听in response to a report from workers鈥� rights group Labour Behind the Label.听A听spokesman said: “Next concluded there is a case for Boohoo Group to answer.听
“Next needs to prove to itself the two Boohoo Group labels that it was stocking are being sourced in a manner that is appropriate and acceptable to Next.听
“Next therefore has its own investigation under way to ascertain whether they are being made in a way that Next does not approve of.”听
The Sunday Times reporter worked for two days听at a Leicester听factory displaying the sign听Jaswal Fashions and was told听to expect a wage of 拢3.50 an hour, despite the minimum wage听for those aged 25 and over being 拢8.72.听听
Video footage showed him packing garments destined to be sold under the听Nasty Gal听label, owned by boohoo.听
The factory was also听working听last week despite a听full听localised听COVID-19听lockdown,听without additional hygiene or social distancing measures in place.听听
Garment factories in Leicester are thought to be a leading cause of听a recent听spike in infections in听the听area.听An estimated听three-quarters of clothing听made in Leicester听are ultimately sold under boohoo听brands.听
On Wednesday boohoo released a statement highlighting was it claimed are 鈥�inaccuracies鈥� in the report.听听
鈥�The garments featured were not actually manufactured in Leicester, but in Morocco.听Post–production, the garments were shipped back to the UK by the supplier to be repackaged into compliant boxes for delivery to the听group’s international distribution centre in Burnley,鈥� it read.听
鈥淛aswal Fashions Limited, contrary to the media report, is not and has never been a supplier for the听group, and听does not operate in the unit stated.鈥澨�听
boohoo also听said it would听鈥渁ccelerate鈥� an independent听third party听supply chain review with ethical audit and compliance specialists Verisio and Bureau Veritas.听
It will also recruit two further听Non-Executive听Directors “to provide an appropriate balance of independent directors on the group’s board”.听
John Lyttle, group CEO, commented: 鈥�As a board, we are shocked and appalled by the recent allegations that have been made and we are committed to doing everything in our power to rebuild the reputation of the textile manufacturing industry in Leicester.听听
鈥�We want to ensure that the actions of a few do not continue to undermine the excellent work of many suppliers in the area, who succeed in providing good jobs and good working conditions.鈥�听
Last month boohoo group reported a听45% increase in group revenue to 拢367.8m听for the three months to May 31st听and also听acquired the intellectual property of women’s fashion retailers Oasis and Warehouse, both of which went into administration in April.听