Michael Murray insists he is running Frasers, not Mike Ashley
The boss of Frasers Group Michael Murray has insisted he is the one making decisions at the retail firm, not his father-in-law Mike Ashley.
Murray, who took over the reins of the fashion powerhouse last May, told The Telegraph that “Mike is not on the board,” but admitted he still consulted the tycoon for advice.
The 34-year-old said: “I’m on the board with non-executive directors, and we make the decisions. You’ve got to be on the board to make the final decision.”
But Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, still remains the business’s biggest shareholder.
It comes as Frasers Group has been building stakes in a multitude of businesses including AO World, Asos and Boohoo, the latter of which was just hiked to 13.4 per cent on Friday.
Murray said he was unable to comment on the reasoning behind this, describing the investments as “mid-flight”.
Frasers Group’s growing success comes amid a challenging time for many retailers, who are battling a slowdown in sales due to economic uncertainty and changing habits post pandemic.
The company has managed to weather the economic storm quite well posting a 15.8 per cent jump in revenue in the last financial year, totalling £5.56bn.
Murray said: “Retailing is genuinely a lot harder. Only the strongest will survive and they will polarise. Anyone who is marginal in this environment is not good enough.”
The boss also blamed high business rates and taxes for hindering retail growth in the UK.
He added: “It’s just not very inviting for new brands coming to the UK. When was the last time you heard a new retailer opening stores around the UK?”
Speaking at the time he said: “It’s so outdated. It needs to be reformed to encourage retail investment.”