(Reuters) -British online fashion retailer Boohoo said on Friday it would rebrand as Debenhams Group even though opposition from top shareholder Frasers meant the name change for its holding company did not get shareholder approval.
At a general meeting, 62.04% of votes cast supported the official name change, falling short of the required 66% of votes, the company said.
“This general meeting was only related to the technical name change of the ultimate holding company,” the company told Reuters in an email.
“While this will now remain the same, the company is absolutely moving forward as Debenhams Group.”
Boohoo had announced its rebranding earlier this month.
Frasers, which owns just over 29% of Boohoo shares based on LSEG data, voted against the resolution.
Frasers, majority-owned by British retail tycoon Mike Ashley, in January unsuccessfully tried to oust Boohoo’s co-founder from the board, and the companies have been involved in a long-running corporate tussle.
Boohoo, boosted by an online shopping surge during the coronavirus pandemic, has been facing supply chain issues, weak demand and stiff competition from e-commerce firms such as Shein and Temu.
The company has said it sees the Debenhams brand having the potential to achieve multi-billion pound gross merchandise value in the medium term.
In March, Boohoo appointed Phil Ellis, Debenhams’ finance director, as its CFO, following the appointment of Dan Finley as the group’s CEO late last year.
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Jane Merriman)
