ME+EM names new chairman as it prepares for rapid US growth

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 6, 2022

​Luxury British label ME+EM has appointed Maurice Helfgott as its Chairman as it embarks on a new growth phase that will see fast expansion in the US.

The direct-to-consumer retailer has been growing fast in recent periods and the Chairman’s arrival comes as it ramps up its operations outside of its domestic market. It's looking globally, but particularly towards the important American market.

Helfgott has led a number of D2C, software and e-commerce brands, helping them scale internationally, including MyOptique, END Clothing and Brightpearl.

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The company, which has six boutique stores across London, as well as concessions in Harrods, and Selfridges in London and Manchester, will also open its first boutiques in New York and Boston next year.

It was founded by Claire Hornby in 2009 and recently appeared on the Sunday Times list of the fastest-growing small businesses in the UK, with triple-digit growth in the past year. 

The US is the business’s most dynamic market at present, but the new growth phase will also see it expanding further into Australia, the Middle East, Canada, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, where it also has a burgeoning online customer base.

Helfgott will work alongside Hornby “to build on the company’s recent success, which helped it to secure £55 million in new investment from growth investor Highland Europe earlier this year”. Highland has also been an investor in Matchesfashion.

The new Chairman is said to bring “unprecedented knowledge, as well as operational and scaling experience to the growing ME+EM team”. Most recently, he chaired retail software firm Brightpearl, which was sold for £255 million. 

His business career began in the fashion industry, where he became a director of Marks & Spencer and later of menswear specialist Moss Bros. 

He said of his new post that “it's rare to find a team so committed to their mission, so aligned with their audience and with such global potential”.