PrettyLittleThing (PLT) founder Umar Kamani is stepping down as CEO at the online fashion giant after over ten years heading up the celeb-endorsed Manchester brand.
Kamani founded the company in 2012 alongside his brother Adam and has since overseen its growth from an online accessories startup to one of the UK’s leading fashion names with annual revenue in excess of £700m in its last financial year and a current valuation of around £3.8bn. Kumani’s personal wealth was estimated in 2022 at around $0.5bn, doubtless helped in part by the £161 million in cash The Times reported he received in 2020, when he sold his 34 per cent stake in PLT to his father, Boohoo chief Mahmud Kamani, for £330m. Brother Adam Kamani is still listed as a director of PLT, and also serves as CEO of the family’s Kamani Property Group.
The brand is famous for its celeb and infuencer-heavy approach to marketing, with collaborators including Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, Little Mix, Gemma Owen, and Molly-Mae Hague, who’s also the brand’s creative director.
Kamani himself has become something of an online celebrity over the decade+ of PLT’s existence, so it’s perhaps fitting that he chose Twitter rather than the pages of the Financial Times to announce his departure.
In a lengthy tweet, Kamani spoke of his “difficult decision” to stand down, spoke of needing “new challenges” and added that he has plans to “build new brands” in the future:
After 12 years as CEO and Founder of PrettyLittleThing I have made the difficult decision to step down from my position as CEO. 12 amazing years that changed my life and I will be forever grateful for all those memories. I’m at the stage in my life where I need to set myself new… pic.twitter.com/j2cpoBfkbp
— Umar Kamani (@UmarKamani) April 16, 2023
