Carl McPhail: preparing to lead New Look’s IPO

New Look chief executive Carl McPhail is outside 203 Oxford Street, admiring the fast-fashion retailer’s latest public statement.

The four-floor, 26,000 sq ft store, which opened last week, houses New Look’s largest footwear department and menswear offer and is a clear indication of the business’s focus on the verge of a potential IPO.

He is keen not to take too much of the limelight himself. “A leader has to make sure he has a clear strategic vision for the business that can be articulated on one page so everyone gets it,” he says. “It is important to surround yourself by talent and give them space to grow.”

But two years into his role heading the £1.3bn revenue business, Salford-born McPhail has been thrown into the spotlight. Last week he outlined flotation plans designed to pay down debt and turn New Look from a 1,010-store operation trading in 13 markets into a global contender to rattle the cages of competitors such as H&M.

McPhail describes himself as “decisive” and “focused”; prepared to take the “hard decisions”, he is ambitious and competitive, something that reportedly came to the fore in his attempt to succeed former chairman Phil Wrigley as chief executive in 2008.

The succession battle was between then-chief operating officer Paul Marchant - now chief executive of Primark and renowned for his product nous - and McPhail, who was managing director.

McPhail admits he fought hard to win the post. “We were bought in to compete and optimise things for the business,” he says. “Yes, it was quite competitive. It was fun, not acrimonious.”

So is it essential for a chief executive to have broad experience? “I am a generalist,” says McPhail. “What I love about retail is that I have so many jobs. I love standing outside the store and watching the customer and I love being in stores.”

McPhail is irked when probed on some of the headlines that appeared following the announcement of IPO plans. He diplomatically says he is “obliged” to consider all options when asked about a mooted dual-track sale process, and declines to comment on comparisons made with Debenhams’ return to the stock market or on New Look’s £600m PIK notes.

McPhail prefers to talk about nurturing his team, which, he says, includes people from all over the world with great strengths and is sign of where the business is heading.

McPhail says he learnt most from River Island owners Bernard and Leonard Lewis during his time at the retailer between 1991 and 1994, and cites his time as a management trainee at Bhs from the age of 18 in 1982 as key in the shaping of his retail career.

“Twice a year I would have a different job, I met lots of incredible people,” he says. He also says that Italian department store chief executive Vittorio Radice was a key inspiration during his time as retail operations director at Selfridges between 1999 and 2001.

So can McPhail, previously regarded as being in Wrigley’s shadow, lead a stock market flotation?

Nick Bubb, analyst at Arden Partners, says: “Stepping into Phil Wrigley’s shoes, I think Carl had a tough job at first to establish himself, but he’s come on really well. He’s affable and down to earth, but sharp and ambitious at the same time.”

McPhail says apart from work, the other thing that “keeps him on his toes” is his two children and his passion for Manchester United. “They bring me back down to earth,” he says.

Undoubtedly, the next couple of months will keep McPhail anchored.

If the IPO is successful, surrounded by his team, McPhail will have cemented his role as one of fashion’s leading men.