The UK’s third-largest online women’s fashion retailer and fourth-largest omnichannel retailer, New Look, has announced that its current chief operating officer, Lynda Petherick, will take over as CEO from 22nd September 2026.
The move follows a strong trading period as the business has posted growing revenues and margins after a period where it focused on managing inventory and costs. This is an encouraging performance in a sector that has been met with significant economic headwinds of late, including supply chain challenges.
Formerly managing director at Accenture leading the consultancy’s fashion and retail advisory business, Lynda joined New Look in 2024 as chief information officer with a remit to spearhead the company’s digital transformation, moving across to the COO role in 2025. Outside of these internal roles, Lynda also served on the Board of the British Fashion Council until January 2026 where she focused on sustainability and circular fashion.
Mike Coupe, Chairman of New Look, commented:
“[Lynda] combines strong commercial judgement and operational discipline with a deep understanding of our customers, our brand and the role that data and technology will play in our future. As COO she knows the business extremely well, has already made a significant impact and has a clear vision for its next phase.”
Of her new role, Lynda remarked:
“Over the past two years, we have made significant progress in strengthening the business and becoming a faster, more data-led and customer-focused organisation. The encouraging response to our recent product and collections, the growth of Club New Look and the launch of Pulse give us a powerful platform from which to deepen customer relationships and make better commercial decisions. I am excited about what New Look can achieve and look forward to working with our brilliant teams to build on the strong progress already made and deliver the next phase of sustainable, profitable growth.”
