CEO of Perry Ellis Europe named UK country manager for BasicNet Group

Carl Davies is set to leave the helm of Perry Ellis Europe after six years to join Turin-based BasicNet Group as country manager for the UK, according to a report by UK newspaper Drapers and confirmed by BasicNet Group to FashionUnited.

Davies, who will join BasicNet on June 16, the media outlet revealed, has led Perry Ellis Europe, which owns brands such as Original Penguin and Farah, since 2020.

"Carl has solid experience in the sector, and we are delighted to welcome him to the BasicNet Group as country manager for the UK. We are confident that his contribution will be important to further strengthen our presence in the UK market," Lorenzo Boglione, CEO of BasicNet Group, said in a statement sent to FashionUnited.

BasicNet owns, among others, the brands Superga, Woolrich, Sundek, Sebago and K-Way.

In October 2024, Permira acquired a 40 percent stake in K-Way S.p.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of BasicNet. BasicNet retains a stake of approximately 60% in K-Way. The transaction closed in the first quarter of 2025.

"K-Way is a brand we greatly admire, and we are excited about the company's future prospects and the opportunity to collaborate with BasicNet and the Boglione family," Francesco Pascalizi, partner and CEO of Permira Italia, emphasised in a statement in October 2024.

The K-Way brand was born in Paris in 1965. Clothing retailer Léon-Claude Duhamel watched people run in the rain in soaked clothes and carrying uncomfortable umbrellas, and had an idea: create a waterproof item to carry everywhere, neither an umbrella nor a raincoat. Thus was born a revolutionary jacket: lightweight, comfortable, completely waterproof, and foldable into a small hip pocket. Named Claude, the jacket features a coloured zipper and a logo inspired by the French flag.

Article updated at 11:10 AM on May 6, 2026.