Amara appoints new chairman to lead next stage of growth
Amara Living, the luxury interior online retailer, has appointed Stefan Cassar as its new chairman.
Cassar succeeds Andrew Curran who will take on a non-executive position.
With over 25 years in the retail sector, Cassar joined The Shoe Studio Group in 1999 and completed a management buyout of the business in 2001. In 2004, the business went on to acquire both the Warehouse and Principles clothing chains and the merged business, known as Rubicon Retail, was subsequently sold in 2006.
Cassar then joined The Highland Group Holdings consortium and was instrumental in the acquisition of House of Fraser where he later became chief financial officer. Since then, he has held a number of non-executive director roles within the retail sector.
Established in 2005, Amara offers over 500 luxury home brands. In the year to 31 December 2014, total group sales rose by 59% to £5.3 million and the company forecasts that annual total sales will reach at least £9 million for 2015.
As well as its UK business, Amara operates 11 international websites, including the US, France and Australia. International sales account for around 45% of overall sales, with the US being the second largest market after the UK.
Andrew Hood, Amara chief executive, said: “I am delighted to welcome Stefan to the Amara team as chairman to the board. His experience and expertise will be invaluable as we move into the next phase of growth. We have an exciting journey ahead of us and will be continuing to build the brand both in the UK and internationally. Our strategy is to increase our brand offering for our customers, continue to grow our international sales and further develop our leading e-commerce and customer platforms.”
Amara has also announced that it has successfully issued additional ordinary shares, raising £3.4 million to further expand the brand both in the UK and internationally. This equity was purchased by a combination of existing Amara investors as well as number of individuals investing for the first time.
