Dive Brief:
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Tapestry, the retailer conglomerate that owns Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, on Tuesday said its board of directors has appointed Joanne Crevoiserat to take the chief executive role permanently.
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Crevoiserat has been serving as interim CEO since July upon the sudden departure of Jide Zeitlin, according to a company press release.
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Crevoiserat joined Tapestry last year as CFO following several years of finance leadership in the retail space. She previously was COO at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., after arriving in 2014 as CFO. Before that she held senior positions at Kohl's, Walmart and May Department Stores, including CFO of the Filene's, Foley's and Famous-Barr brands.
Dive Insight:
There had been a revolving door at Tapestry this year prior to Zeitlin's departure amid an investigation into his behavior during a prior personal relationship.
Coach CEO Joshua Schulman departed in March, and the Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman labels each appointed new leaders in February. Zeitlin, one of the fashion industry's few Black executives, had previously said he would remain with the company for the next three years to help it achieve momentum. He had replaced Victor Luis as CEO in September 2019.
The company faced an uphill climb even before the continued turnover and the COVID-19 pandemic. What Jane Hali & Associates analysts call the "affordable luxury handbag market" was already softening before the pandemic, and they note that the disease outbreak has challenged it further.
"Coach continues to be the company's strength," according to an Oct. 19 note from Jane Hali. Fortunately for the company, Coach contributes the lion's share of its business; Jane Hali pegs it at 70%, with Kate Spade contributing 24% and Weitzman 6%.
Keeping Crevoiserat on is a vote for consistency as the company continues navigating pandemic-related challenges, including at the holidays.
"While still relatively new to [Tapestry], Crevoiserat is a retail veteran that adds a steady hand after a volatile period of very high turnover (2 CEO and 1 Coach brand head departures in past two years)," Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti said in emailed comments Tuesday.