Tapestry names Abercrombie & Fitch exec new CFO

Dive Brief:

Tapestry on Wednesday said that the company has named Joanne Crevoiserat chief financial officer, effective Aug. 1.
Crevoiserat comes from Abercrombie & Fitch Co., where she was chief operating officer from 2017 until June 2019; She joined Abercrombie in 2014 as chief financial officer. Before that, she had several senior management roles at Kohl's Inc. and senior finance positions at Walmart and May Department Stores, according to a Tapestry press release.
She replaces Kevin Wills, who left in February. Andrea Shaw Resnick has served as CFO in the interim and is staying on as global head of investor relations and corporate communications.

Dive Insight:

There's been some turnover in the CFO spot at Tapestry in recent years. In fact, Resnick first took on the role on an interim basis when previous finance chief Jane Nielsen departed for Ralph Lauren.

It was Wills who helped oversee Coach's metamorphosis two years ago into Tapestry, a luxury apparel conglomerate that still has a lot on its plate. The company refurbished Coach from a tired, discounted brand to a more upscale one with appeal to younger customers and is now attempting the same feat for Kate Spade, which it acquired in 2017 for $2.4 billion. That effort, and the turnaround of Stuart Weitzman, are on balance seeing progress, though there has been some topline sales volatility.

In its most recent quarter, Tapestry saw net sales rise 1% to $1.33 billion, from $1.32 billion in the prior year, as net income fell to $117 million from $140 million a year ago. Coach net sales edged down as global comps rose 1%, Kate Spade net sales rose 4% to $281 million as global comps fell 3%, and Stuart Weitzman net sales rose to $85.3 million from $83.8 million as operating loss expanded to $13.6 million from $11 million last year.

While the company is focused on merchandising, it's not above making financial maneuvers. At the time of its third quarter report, executives announced a $1 billion stock repurchase authorization. "[W]e believe today's $1bn authorization will be viewed as a vote of confidence in the company by management and a good use of capital," Instinet analyst Simeon Siegel wrote in comments emailed to Retail Dive at the time. "That said, management was clear that this is meant to offset dilution and will only be used opportunistically beyond that, stressing their comfort in their acquisitive profile."