John Pittard leaves Pittards plc
Pittards plc, a UK-based supplier of high performance leather, has announced the resignation of its Chief Executive, John Pittard. Having turned 60 earlier this year and after serving the company for forty years Mr Pittard, together with Robert Paisley, managing director of the Raw Materials Division, left the company’s board on 1 September.
On the same day Stephen Boyd joined the group as deputy executive chairman. A chemical engineer by training, he has worked in a variety of manufacturing industries and has held a chief executive position at Capital Industries.
These changes are taking place at a difficult time for Pittards, as shown through the figures for the six months ended June 30 released at the same time, according to which the company has registered a loss of £1.2 million ($2.15 million) before tax. The volume of finished leather in that period dropped by 12.5% compared to the first half.
All three divisions incurred operating losses but the Raw Materials Division struggled the most and its closure seems likely. Hit by the foot and mouth outbreak two years ago, the division has seen a dramatic drop in demand for
The only rise on last year’s figures has been reported in the sales of dress glove leather, an entire 9%. Sports glove leather, on the other hand, fell by 14% due to the low demand from the baseball equipment market.
Pittards supplies high performance leather to the world's leading brands of gloves, shoes, leathergoods and sports equipment. It seeks to grow its business by offering innovative leathers with high performance, quality and consistency properties.
