(Yicai) Jan. 23 -- Zhou Chengjian, founder of Metersbonwe Fashion and Accessories, will return to the helm of the Chinese casual wear retailer after his daughter stepped down as president, finishing a term of more than seven years, most of which were unprofitable.

Zhou was reinstated as president after Hu Jiajia, Zhou's daughter who was born in 1986, resigned due to a job adjustment, the Shanghai-headquartered company announced yesterday.

On Jan. 5, Hu already stepped down as chairwoman for personal reasons. But she still holds almost 9 percent of the listed company's equity. Hu first became chairwoman and president in November 2016 after Zhou quit.

Hu received a warning from the securities regulator in Shanghai in late December for failing to disclose on time whether the firm had provided financial assistance to external parties.

Earlier this month, Zhou said that Metersbonwe would achieve profitability this year following years of losses. He also shared his recent realization that the internet has introduced tremendous changes in consumption patterns in the past decade.

The founder touched on operational issues. "A digital management mechanism should be used to thoroughly solve the challenges of serious abnormal problems of quality, cost, and delivery time in the past few years," Zhou wrote in a letter to all staff yesterday.

Metersbonwe was losing money even before Hu took over. Since she took office, the firm's only entirely profitable year was the year 2018. In total, the company has lost nearly CNY3.2 billion (USD450 million) during her watch. However, in the first three quarters of last year, net profit tallied CNY41.6 million (CNY5.8 million).

The fashion brand has sold stores and other assets to reduce its liabilities. Still, its debt ratio rose to nearly 94.5 percent as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Editor: Emmi Laine