Brands
Capri Holdings
Global fashion luxury group Capri Holdings Limited announced that Cedric Wilmotte will be appointed chief executive officer of the Michael Kors brand effective April 3.
Wilmotte recently served as the interim CEO for Versace from January through September 2022 and is currently Versace’s chief operating officer. Before his time at Versace, Wilmotte led the Michael Kors EMEA business from its inception in 2008 through 2021. During his tenure as president of Michael Kors EMEA, he was responsible for Michael Kors’ growth in the region.
PVH Corp.
Tommy Hilfiger parent company PVH Corp. has named Donald Kohler president of Calvin Klein Americas. Kohler will join the company on March 13 to lead the regional Calvin Klein business and will report to Stefan Larsson, PVH CEO.
He joins PVH and Calvin Klein with three decades of retail leadership experience. Over the past 15 years, Kohler has led the Americas region for global brands, including Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo and Diesel.
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Anta Sports Products Limited
Chinese sports equipment corporation Anta Sports’ board of directors has announced several changes to its management structure.
Ding Shizhong will retire from the role of CEO and will remain as chairman. Ding Shijia will cease overseeing the group’s supply chain management but will continue overseeing its manufacturing operations. Zheng Jie will retire from his roles as group president and CEO of the Outdoor Sports Group but will remain an executive director and CEO of Armer Sports. Lai Shixian will be appointed as the co-CEO in charge of the Anta brand and will retire from his CFO role. Wu Yonghua will be appointed as the co-CEO, in charge of the Fila brand, and retire as Performance Sports Group’s CEO. Bi Mingwei will be named CFO and primarily responsible for financial management and middle-and-back-office functions.
Retail
The RealReal
Luxury reseller The RealReal announced that John E. Koryl will join the company as its CEO and as a member of its board of directors, effective Feb. 6. The company’s co-interim chief executive officers, Rati Sahi Levesque and Robert Julian, will remain with the company as president and chief operating officer, and chief financial officer, respectively.
In his new role at The RealReal, Koryl will focus on streamlining the company’s operations to improve overall client experience, achieve cost savings and lead the company to profitability.
Pacsun
Pacsun announced a leadership transition in which Brie Olson, Pacsun president and board member, will be appointed co-CEO alongside co-CEO Mike Relich, effective March 9, 2023. Alfred Chang will step down after 17 years with the company to join Fear of God, a key Pacsun brand partner, as its CEO. Chang will stay on as Pacsun’s co-CEO until March 8 to facilitate the transition and will remain a Pacsun board of directors member after joining Fear of God.
Olson has over two decades of experience in the retail industry, including 17 years at Pacsun, and has served as president and a member of the Pacsun board of directors since May 2021. Olson also leads the company’s AI and metaverse initiatives, including activations on Roblox and the brand’s partnership with the first known virtual influencer, Miquela.
The Athlete’s Foot
Specialty footwear and lifestyle chain The Athlete’s Foot announced the expansion of its marketing team and the promotion of two key executives. Darius Billings has been named vice president of marketing, community engagement and The Strategic African American Retail Track (StAART), and Cassidy Dansberry has been named marketing manager, effective immediately.
Billings spearheads the StAART program, created in 2020 as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and addresses the economic disparities within the Black community, especially within the footwear industry.
Dollar Tree Inc.
Dollar Tree announced that Mike Witynski, who has been in leadership positions at the discount store since 2010 and served as CEO since 2020, is stepping down from the board and leaving the company. Executive chairman Rick Dreiling will expand his role to assume the position of CEO, effective Jan. 29.
Dreiling has a demonstrated track record of creating shareholder value with more than 50 years of retail experience at all operating levels, including expanding the footprint and offerings of several notable retailers and leading the successful transformation of multiple retailers.
Asos
Online fashion retailer Asos has allegedly appointed Scott Millar, a senior managing director at the professional services firm Ankura, to join its financial department, according to Sky News. The British e-tailer declined to confirm or comment on the news.
Asos’ chief financial officer stepped down last year, with its interim CFO resigning in December 2022 and officially stepping down in May. Amid these struggles, among others, the retailer and its lenders began discussions surrounding whether or not to hire a restructuring export.
Trade
AlixPartners
Global consulting firm AlixPartners announced that Justin MacFarlane has rejoined the firm as partner and managing director in its global retail practice.
MacFarlane’s corporate experience includes serving as chief strategy, analytics, and innovation officer at Macy’s Inc., where he transformed the analytics function, led revenue-generating innovation and headed a transformation office focused on EBITDA improvement through margin expansion, inventory efficiency, cost management and reduction of operational complexity. From 2006 to 2010, before his corporate positions, MacFarlane worked at AlixPartners, joining the firm from a well-known global retail consultancy.
The NPD Group
Senior industry advisor of sports Matt Powell has left The NPD Group to start his own industry consulting firm, Spurwink River. He will be offering consulting and advisory services to the retail industry with a focus on merchandising and marketing, advising the stock market on topics in retail as well.
Textiles
Momentum Textiles & Wallcoverings
Momentum Textiles & Wallcoverings, the commercial interior industry’s largest supplier of contract textiles and wallcoverings, has named Paul Cleary as the new president and CEO, effective immediately. Cleary aims to bolster the company’s commitment to innovation, sustainability and collaboration.
Cleary’s team at Momentum will have a strong focus on curating solutions for all commercial interior markets, specifically providing exceptional ground-up design capability, color flexibility and running-line options to service all aspects of the industry.
Logistics
Finnair Cargo
Northern Europe air cargo carrier Finnair Cargo has named Gabriela Hiitola senior vice president as of Feb. 1. She moves to her new duties from vice president, operations of control position.
Hiitola has worked for Finnair for nearly 25 years in various roles. She originally started her Finnair career in a cargo-related role and now looks forward to returning to the world of cargo as she takes over the leadership of the cargo unit from Fredrik Wildtgrube, who is moving into a new role as senior vice president, alliances and airlines parentship within Finnair’s commercial and customer experience unit as of Feb. 1.