Explanatory Notes to the Business of the Annual General Meeting
Resolutions 1 to 4 - Approval of Financial Statements
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting, after having reviewed the management report of the Management Board and the report of the independent auditor, approve:
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the consolidated accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 in their entirety, showing a consolidated net loss of EUR 85.1 million ; |
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the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 in their entirety, showing a net profit of EUR 9.1 million ; |
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allocation of the results of the Company based on the stand-alone annual accounts of the Company prepared in accordance with Luxembourg GAAP for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 as follows: |
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Results of the financial year 2024: profit of EUR 9.1 million |
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Losses brought forward: EUR 3.25 billion |
Shareholders are reminded that no vote is required for resolution 1.
Resolutions 5 to 6 - Discharge of Current and Former Members of the Management Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting approve that discharge be granted to each current and former member of the Management Board, for the exercise of their mandates during the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
Resolutions 7 to 11 - Discharge of Current Members of the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting approve that discharge be granted to each current and former member of the Supervisory Board, for the exercise of their mandates during the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
Resolutions 12 to 15 - Reappointment of Members of the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting approve and renew the mandates, as members of the Supervisory Board, of each of the following persons: Cynthia Gordon, Carol Shen, Laura Weil and John Baker.
Pursuant to the German Corporate Governance Code which the Company has voluntarily elected to comply with, all proposed candidates are independent. Further, none of the proposed candidates have personal or business relationships with either the Company, the governing bodies of the Company or any shareholders with a material interest in the Company.
Cynthia Gordon, Carol Shen and John Baker shall be reappointed as members of the Supervisory Board shall be for a period of three years, expiring at the general meeting of shareholders that resolves on the discharge for the exercise of the Supervisory Board’s mandates for the financial year ending 31 December 2027, being the general meeting of shareholders to be held in 2028.
Laura Weil shall be reappointed as a member of the Supervisory Board for a period of one year, expiring at the general meeting of shareholders that resolves on the discharge for the exercise of the Supervisory Board’s mandates for the financial year ending 31 December 2025, being the general meeting of shareholders to be held in 2026.
The proposed Supervisory Board members each possess relevant knowledge, skills and professional experience to enable the Supervisory Board to fulfil its supervisory duties effectively. If the reappointments are approved, this will lead to an independent Supervisory Board in accordance within the definition of the German Corporate Governance Code and a gender and ethnically diverse Supervisory Board.
The biographical information of each individual proposed for reappointment to the Supervisory Board is available on the Company’s website at
https://ir.global-fashion-group.com/agm
Resolution 16 - Appointment of Andreas Bernstrom to the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting approves the appointment of Andreas Bernstrom as a member of the Supervisory Board.
In line with the German Corporate Governance Code, which the Company has voluntarily elected to comply with, Andreas Bernstrom is deemed to be independent. Further, he does not have any personal or business relationships with either the Company, the governing bodies of the Company, with the exception that with the exception that Andreas Bernstrom is the Operating Partner of Kinnevik AB (publ), whose subsidiary is a material shareholder of the Company.
Andreas Bernstrom’s mandate shall expire at the general meeting of shareholders that resolves on the discharge for the exercise of the Supervisory Board’s mandates for the financial year ending 31 December 2027, being the general meeting of shareholders to be held in 2028.
Andreas Bernstrom possesses relevant knowledge, skills and professional experience to assist the Supervisory Board in fulfilling its supervisory duties effectively. Andreas Bernstrom’s biographical information is available on the Company’s website at
https://ir.global-fashion-group.com/agm
Resolution 17 - Reappointment of Auditor
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting appoint the auditing firm Ernst & Young as independent auditor (réviseur d’entreprises agréé) to perform the independent audit of the Company regarding the financial year ending 31 December 2025.
Resolution 18 - Presentation of, and advisory vote on, the remuneration report for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 for the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting pass an advisory vote on the remuneration report for the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board for the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
Resolution 19 - Presentation of, and advisory vote on, the revised remuneration policy for the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting pass an advisory vote on the remuneration policy for the members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board.
The Company has revised its remuneration policy for the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, as previously approved by the shareholders on 12 June 2024, and submits it to an advisory vote of the Annual General Meeting as required by Article 7bis of the Luxembourg law of 24 May 2011 on shareholders rights and which became effective on 24 August 2019, as amended (the “ Shareholders Rights Law ”).
The proposed changes provide further clarification around the circumstances in which the Supervisory Board may elect to award share options to Management Board Members. Specifically, the Supervisory Board may determine to award share options as covering multiple years of employment in place of smaller serial annual grants of restricted stock units, performance stock units and performance share options. The award of share options will be subject to a vesting schedule and exercise price that is set at the grant date. These changes are intended to provide an alternative method of incentivising value creation and have no additional cost to the Company.
In addition, the annual fees for the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and for Members of the Supervisory Board have each been increased by EUR 2,000.
All other material terms of the remuneration policy remain the same, including in relation to the ratio mix between fixed and variable components.
Resolution 20 - Remuneration for the Members of the Supervisory Board
The Management Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting approve the remuneration for the members of the Supervisory Board, payable annually and for the period of their mandate, as follows:
Supervisory Board:
|
Supervisory
Board |
Audit
Committee |
Sustainability
Committee |
Nomination
Committee |
Remuneration
Committee |
Chairman |
€42,000 |
€40,000 |
€20,000 |
€10,000 |
€25,000 |
Vice Chairman |
€10,000 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Member |
€32,000 |
€10,000 |
€10,000 |
€5,000 |
€10,000 |
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board shall be entitled to their fee as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively, along with the fee for being a member of the Supervisory Board. |