LONDON – New Look has named Lynda Petherick CEO as the British fast fashion retailer positions itself for a new phase of growth following its strongest financial results in a decade.
The company said Petherick, currently New Look‘s chief operating officer, will take up her new role on Sept. 22. She replaces Helen Connolly, who will remain with the business until Sept. 21 to support the transition.
Petherick joined New Look in 2024 as chief information officer and led New Look’s digital transformation. She was promoted to COO in 2025 and since then has been “driving operational improvements and accelerating the use of data and technology” across the business, New Look said.
She was formerly managing director at Accenture, where she led the retail and fashion advisory business in the U.K. and Ireland. She also served on the board of the British Fashion Council from November 2022 until January 2026, where she led sustainability initiatives, including the launch of the Circular Fashion Innovation Network.
Mike Coupe, chairman of New Look, said Petherick “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.”
He added: “As COO she knows the business extremely well, has already made a significant impact and has a clear vision for its next phase. New Look is well positioned to build on its progress, and realize the significant opportunity ahead.”
Petherick said that over the past two years, New Look has made “significant progress in strengthening the business and becoming a faster, more data-led and customer-focused organization. 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.”
New Look, which is privately owned by investment companies Alcentra and Brait, said it has been investing “significantly in its digital channels and technology platform, and strengthening the infrastructure that supports the business and its customers.”
The company said it is now the U.K.’s third-largest online women’s fashion retailer and fourth-largest omni-channel fashion retailer, supported by its digital reach and 309-store estate.
It added that Club New Look, the company’s first loyalty program, has grown to more than one million members. Those members are shopping around seven times more frequently and spending approximately 9.5 times more annually than customers who have not opted in, with a retention rate well ahead of the market average.
The company has also launched New Look Pulse, a proprietary customer insight and business forecasting platform. It said Pulse brings together “millions of data points across customers, products, stores, loyalty, discounting, marketing and the wider market,” creating a single, real-time view of the business.
“The platform is designed to support faster, more accurate decision-making across demand forecasting, product and range planning, pricing and markdown, customer engagement, marketing, store investment and capital allocation,” New Look said.
In the first-quarter, EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, reached 17.4 million pounds, 1.8 million pounds more than in the corresponding period last year.
The company added that it has successfully completed the refinancing of its term loan and operational facilities, extending key maturities to 2029.
The refinancing, it said, enhances its financial flexibility “and reflects continued confidence in the business, supporting selective investment in its customer proposition, digital capabilities, store estate and operational efficiency.”
