Boo just keeps on bleeding.
The Internet retailer just lost its second top executive in a year, a sign the Web site backed by deep-pocketed investors such as Bernard Arnault has yet to hit its stride.
CFO Dean Hawkins, 38, who joined boo.com in January, is leaving to join Chello Broadband NV, a Dutch Internet service provider.
The departure comes on the heels of the exit of one of boo’s three founding members, Executive Chairman Patrik Hedelin, who left the struggling e-tailer two months ago to spend more time with his family in Sweden.
“Dean Hawkins has been offered an exciting opportunity at Chello, and we are sad to see him leave boo.com,” said boo Co-founder Ernst Malmsten.
The CEO said the company’s former CFO, a senior partner at accountancy firm KPMG, will be returning to that post.
But sources at boo.com said that Malmsten and his partner, Kajsa Leander, were not pleased with Hawkins’ performance.
“He didn’t make a great impact on the company, so they let him out of his contract,” said one insider about the former CFO of Adidas-Salomon.
The e-tailer of sportswear and accessories from brands such as DKNY, Puma, New Balance, Timberland and North Face has been besieged by problems from the start, including technical snafus that delayed its highly hyped launch and a string of layoffs after the holiday season.
But the CEO still insists everything is boo-tiful and is confident the future is bright.
Malmsten announced a series of long-term marketing alliances yesterday, including pacts with Yahoo! sites across Europe and an agreement with pan-European lifestyle portal/ISP Spray.
In the U.S., boo inked a strategic marketing partnership with CDNow.
That union could be a potential problem, however, considering the music company’s recent annual report which included a dismal analysis from its auditor concluding the company might not make it through the year.
Boo reported net revenues for the fourth quarter ending January 31, totaled $680,000. In February, net revenues were $657,000.
Malmsten said those numbers were in accordance with boo.com’s internal targets.
While the company has secured substantial investments from big spenders — including Europ@web, the investment vehicle of Bernard Arnault; 21 Investimenti; Bain Capital; JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs — the company’s internal wars could cause concern.