Mahabis appoints CEO as it looks to become £100m business

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 19, 2019

Iain Martin will take over as chief executive officer of Mahabis, the upmarket slipper brand which was bought out of administration in January.

Martin is the former managing director of online gifts and cards retailer Moonpig.

He will take over from James Cox, who has been acting as interim CEO since his boutique investment firm YYX Capital acquired Mahabis’ assets in January. Martin’s appointment will be effective from Monday, reported Press Association.

Mahabis ran into trouble and called in administrators just days after Christmas despite experiencing high sales. Its luxury woollen slippers, which retail at £69.99, cater to comfort-conscious millennials.

Commenting on the appointment of a new CEO, Cox said: “Iain has a wealth of experience gathered from more than 20 years in senior commercial, marketing, operational and technical roles, spanning large and small scale businesses. We’re delighted to have such a high calibre CEO on board.”

He added: “Iain’s solid track record of devising and delivering growth strategies, scaling teams at pace, whilst simultaneously nurturing collaborative and positive team cultures gives us absolute confidence that he is the right person to further grow Mahabis globally, and at speed.”

Earlier this year, the new owners told Press Association that the company has potential to become a £100m business and could even mimic the success of Australia’s Ugg.