Revolution Beauty had a tumultuous annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, as its largest shareholder Boohoo Group attempted a rebellion. Boohoo, which owns about 26.6% of Revolution Beauty, was among nearly 75% of investors who voted to oust the cosmetics retailer’s three most senior directors, Bob Holt, Elizabeth Lake and Derek Zissman. However, the trio were immediately reinstated by the remaining director Jeremy Schwartz.

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The drama began when Zissman attempted to delay the meeting due to Boohoo Group's attempt to take control of the board by appointing its own candidates to run Revolution Beauty. Boohoo said it could not see “how such a board can claim to be acting in the best interests of shareholders, and is instead self-serving”. However, the postponement was blocked.

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The situation escalated when Zissman, Holt and Lake were removed from the board, leaving just Schwartz in place. Schwartz then appointed a new slate of directors, including the three who had just been ousted, who will remain in their previous roles.

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Revolution Beauty said Boohoo’s stance is “nothing short of value-destructive, opportunistic and self-serving”. The company added that its board and management team have “worked tirelessly for the last 10 months towards resolving the historical issues which have resulted in many detrimental outcomes for the company’s shareholders and other stakeholders”.

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Boohoo Group expressed its “serious concerns” regarding the conduct of the board of Revolution Beauty at, and immediately following, the AGM, which it regards as “self-serving and not in the best interests of shareholders”. Boohoo Group said Jeremy Schwartz went against corporate governance best practices and disregarded the opinion of the company’s shareholders, leading to the firing and then re-hiring of senior directors who had just been removed by the shareholders.

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Sources: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2023/06/revolution-beauty-bosses-agm/