Nigel Blow, a long-serving former executive at luxury department store Harrods, has decided not to take up the role of CEO at Fenwick, a position he was due to start this month, the BBC has learned.
Blow, who worked at Harrods for 14 years from 1992 to 2007, during which time the store was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, declined to comment when approached by the BBC following a recent documentary that aired last month. The documentary, based on the accounts of more than 20 women, accused Al Fayed of sexually assaulting or raping them while they were employed at Harrods.
The BBC first reached out to Blow on 21 September and continued to request comment. However, when Fenwick was contacted on 30 September for a statement regarding the documentary and Blow’s history with Harrods, the department store confirmed that Blow had informed them he would no longer be taking the CEO position. No explanation for his decision has been provided.
Fenwick, renowned for its 140-year-old store in Newcastle, operates eight stores across the UK, having closed its Bond Street location earlier this year. Blow has been the CEO of Morleys, a privately-owned department store chain, since 2019.
Blow’s career at Harrods began in 1992 when he joined as a merchandise controller. He rose to the position of chief merchant in 2003 and was appointed to the board. During his tenure at Harrods, there were reports of alleged sexual misconduct by Al Fayed, which were detailed in a 1995 Vanity Fair article and further documented in a 1997 film and 1998 book. Al Fayed passed away last year at the age of 94.
After leaving Harrods in 2007, Blow went on to work for Irish retailer Brown Thomas, and later held a managing director position at Turnbull and Asser, another Fayed-owned company, from 2013 until 2017.
The BBC has reached out to former directors of Harrods to inquire about their knowledge of Al Fayed’s alleged behaviour and their reactions to the documentary. Another former Harrods executive, Andre Maeder, who was recently appointed CEO of Selfridges, condemned Al Fayed’s actions after watching the documentary, but claimed he had never witnessed any inappropriate conduct during his time at the store.
The decision by Blow to step down from his new role at Fenwick follows growing scrutiny of his connections to Al Fayed’s controversial past, though no direct link to the allegations has been made public.