Ralph Lauren Names New CFO in Shake-Up -- WSJ
09 Junio 2016 - 2:04AM
Noticias Dow Jones
By Joann S. Lublin and Suzanne Kapner
Ralph Lauren Corp.'s new chief executive has poached a top
executive from rival Coach Inc. to join his team, part of a broader
management shake-up at the luxury brand, according to people
familiar with the matter.
Shortly after unveiling a new strategy for Ralph Lauren, Chief
Executive Stefan Larsson is expected to announce on Thursday
several changes to his leadership team, according to one of these
people.
Among the changes: Coach Chief Financial Officer Jane Hamilton
Nielsen will be named to the same role at Ralph Lauren, according
to the people. Ms. Nielsen, who will start the new job on Sept. 6,
will have oversight of procurement, store operations and
information technology, one of the people said.
Late Wednesday, Coach announced that Ms. Nielsen was leaving the
company "to pursue another opportunity" and that it had launched a
search for a permanent successor. She will remain at the handbag
and accessories company into August.
At Ralph Lauren, she will replace Robert Madore, who has been
CFO since April 2015. Mr. Madore is expected to remain with the
company until Sept. 30, one of the people said.
The moves are the latest by Mr. Larsson to clean house and set a
new course for the company after assuming his duties in November.
He is the first outsider to hold the role of CEO, a position that
Ralph Lauren, the company's founder, had held for all of its
49-year-history. Mr. Lauren is chairman, chief creative officer and
the company's single largest shareholder.
Ms. Nielsen has been Coach's finance chief since 2011 and played
an important role in a turnaround that is taking place at that
company. After nearly three years of declines, Coach reported its
first sales growth in North America in its most recent quarter. The
improved results were driven by new, trendier styles, the closure
of dozens of stores and a reduction in promotions, which helped to
increase full-priced sales.
Before joining Coach, Ms. Nielsen held various senior financial
positions at PepsiCo Inc., beginning in 1996. She began her career
as an analyst at Credit Suisse. While at Coach, she was actively
recruited on CFO searches by retailers and makers of consumer
packed goods during the past several years, another person
said.
Mr. Larsson, who previously worked at Gap Inc,s Old Navy chain
and H&M Hennes and Mauritz AB, has been remaking his management
team. He tapped former H&M executives to run global sourcing
and business development. The new head of online commerce came from
eBay Inc.
On Tuesday, Mr. Larsson outlined his new strategy to analysts,
which includes closing 50 company owned retail stores and
eliminating 1,000 jobs, or about 8% of the full-time staff. He also
wants to refocus on the core Ralph Lauren, Polo and Lauren brands
from a dozen labels, and reduce the time it takes to get products
from design to stores to nine months from 15.
Analysts said Mr. Larsson was on the right track, but also noted
that his strategy faced challenges. "All of these initiatives look
well aligned with long-term structural changes in the underlying
apparel environment," Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss, wrote
in a note to clients. But Mr. Buss added: "We believe it will be
very difficult for the company to regain prior pricing power,
particularly given broad availability of value-priced basics
offerings from competitors."
Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com and Suzanne
Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 09, 2016 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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