Naked Wines recently slashed its annual revenue and profit forecasts and said that CEO Nick Devlin will leave the online wine seller as it bleeds customers in the United States, sending its shares plunging over 20%.
Revenue for the year is expected to fall between 12% and 16% from year-ago levels, while adjusted operating profit is expected to come in between £2 million and £6 million, the London-listed firm said.
Previous Forecasts
The group had previously forecast an 8-12% fall in revenue and profit of between £8 million and £12 million for the full year.
"Current trading in the US has fallen well behind, both in terms of sales and margin," said founder-chairman Rowan Gormley, who will take on the role of executive chairman until the appointment of a new CEO.
Naked Wines operates across the US, the UK and Australia, with US accounting for roughly 48% of total revenue.
In the first-half, sales in the US fell by 20%.
"My view is that this shortfall is largely to do with execution, which in turn is largely due to Nick Devlin splitting his time across both the role of CEO and US president," Gormley said.
CEO To Step Down
Devlin, who will step down as CEO with immediate effect, will continue as president of Naked Wines USA through the trading season, the company said.
The company's shares were down 20.6% at 35.75p as of 0808 GMT.
Read More: Naked Wines Sales Surge Comes At A Cost
News by Reuters edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more drinks stories click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
