GB: Matalan appoints ex-New Look boss Nigel Oddy as its CEO – How did New Look fare under Oddy?

GB: Matalan appoints ex-New Look boss Nigel Oddy as its CEO – How did New Look fare under Oddy?

Lesley Simeon - September 30th, 2022

Amid its formal sales process, British fashion and homeware retailer Matalan has appointed Nigel Oddy as its CEO. Oddy will be joining the company after stepping down from the chief executive position at fashion retailer New Look earlier in June this year.

How did New Look do under Oddy as its CEO?

According to YouGov BrandIndex - which tracks consumer sentiment towards thousands of brands daily - New Look’s health suffered a hit during the pandemic – just like many brands’. But by the time Oddy left the company, it had largely been restored.

The retailer’s Index metric - an overall measure of brand health made up of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation and Recommendation – started at a net score of 10.3 on 1 December 2019 (when Oddy took over as the CEO) and ended at 9.2 on 6 June 2022.

During his tenure, the company retained its reputation for value. New Look’s Value metric – which measures whether the brand represents poor or good value for customers’ money – started at a net score of 15.1 and rested just a few decimals lower at 14.8.

Matalan’s Index score over the past one year has slightly dipped – from a 9.2 net score on 27 September 2021 to 7.1 on 26 September 2022. Similarly, the brand’s Value scores have gone down as well.

In his new role at Matalan, along with building overall brand health, Oddy will want to focus on improving public perception of the retailer’s value for money.

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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. New Look and Matalan’s Index score is based on the average of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation, Recommendation scores and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. The Value metric is based on the question: Which of the following clothing stores and brands do you think represents good value for money? Now which of the following clothing stores and brands do you think represents poor value for money? and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. The Buzz score is based on the question: Over the past two weeks, which of the following clothing stores and brands have you heard something positive about? Now which of the following have you heard something negative about over the past two weeks? and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Scores are based on an average daily sample size of 1889 GB adults between 1 December 2019 and 26 September 2022. Figures are based on a four-week moving average.