The news that long-serving chairman Jide Zeitlin has stepped into the role vacated by former CEO Victor Luis at Tapestry Inc, comes just weeks after the high-end fashion house cut its full-year earnings forecast and warned of troubles at its Kate Spade brand.
Luis, held the role for more than five years, and took it with the aim of transforming Tapestry into a global fashion house, after successfully growing the company's business in China, the fastest-growing market for luxury goods in the world.
With Luis at the helm, the company changed its name from Coach to Tapestry and added shoemaker Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade in an effort to win new customers. However, his time at the company was fraught with challenges as the fashion house struggled to both integrate the newly added brands and keep up with the latest fashion trends.
During Luis’ term as CEO, Tapestry shares have halved. They were up about 3% in trading before the bell.
"We ultimately came to the conclusion that as much as we believe in our strategy, there was a gap between our strategic intent and operational delivery," new CEO Zeitlin told Reuters. "It made sense to change leadership at the very top."
A former Goldman Sachs executive, Zeitlin has been chairman since 2014 and a director since 2006.
