Change of clothes: Why fashion retailers are looking for outsider chiefs

Struggling fashion and apparel retailers are turning to outsiders with strong track records in reviving once-failing brands in a bid to end their own slumps.

Gap’s announcement this week that it chose Mattel’s Richard Dickson as its next chief executive was the most recent in a series of top-level appointments in fashion retail from outside the industry.

Last year saw record turnover of apparel and footwear executives, according to Cathy Logue, managing director at executive-search firm Stanton Chase. Their replacements have come from worlds as varied as tech, tyres and travel. Read more at The National.