RTW Retailwinds CEO-elect, board members step down

Dive Brief:

RTW Retailwinds notified the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that Traci Inglis, who was tapped less than a month ago to take over as CEO on Friday, has instead resigned from her current position as president and chief marketing and customer officer. From April 10 through Aug. 31, she is serving as a consultant to the company.
Chief Financial Officer Sheamus Toal will serve as chief executive, while maintaining the CFO role, according to the SEC filing. In 2018 he was named to the dual posts of CFO and chief operating officer, after spending more than a decade with the company in various roles.
Four directors have also left the board, per the SEC filing. On April 10, Miki Racine Berardelli, Brenda Freeman and Christy Haubegger resigned from the board "for personal reasons, effectively immediately." Five days later John Howard also resigned in the same fashion. RTW's board now has four members, according to the document.

Dive Insight:

Inglis was a newcomer to RTW Retailwinds, (formerly New York & Co.) having only arrived last June from TechStyle Fashion Group. She didn't stick around long.

A company spokesperson didn't immediately return a request for comment on the sudden turnover and change of plans.

She and the departing board members are leaving behind quite a project. The company has faltered as apparel sales growth has slowed. S&P Market Intelligence, in its February retail outlook report tracking the one-year probability of default scores among 15 U.S. department stores and apparel retailers, said that RTW Retailwinds held its number two place on that list and that its probability of default was 9.9%.

The retailer's own footprint has been challenged as well. At the end of last year, RTW announced the closure of 30 stores, after shuttering 14 the previous year, and said it was looking to unload some of its lease obligations for its New York City headquarters. More recently, the company last month revealed its latest grim set of results — which new leadership and its turnaround plans were meant to address. Fourth quarter net sales fell to $224 million from $247.3 million the prior year quarter, as store comps fell 7.4%. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales declined 460 basis points to 24.2%. E-commerce did expand by an unspecified amount, and the company, in releasing its new strategy, said it would work to increase digital sales.