Abercrombie & Fitch names new exec to top job

Abercrombie & Fitch elevated the head of its Hollister brand to the newly created role of president and chief merchandising officer after announcing the departure of another top executive.

Abercrombie & Fitch chairman Arthur C. Martinez said that Hollister brand president Fran Horowitz would serve as the company’s new president and chief merchandising officer with responsibility for all brands. Meanwhile, the company announced that Christos Angelides, who served as Abercrombie & Fitch brand president since October 2014 left the company. Horowitz joined Abercrombie & Fitch in October 2014 after previously holding senior roles at Ann Taylor Loft, Express, Bloomingdales and as a buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, Bonwit Teller and Saks Fifth Avenue.

"Fran's merchandising skills and her exceptional leadership, which has inspired associates to focus all their efforts on an intense understanding and commitment to our customers, has ignited a turnaround at our Hollister brand,” Martinez said. “This promotion provides Fran the opportunity to play an even greater role in our future success as we focus on building shareholder value by positioning each of our brands for sustainable growth."

In her new role, Horowitz will have responsibility for all customer-facing activities across the company's brands including merchandising, design, planning, inventory management, marketing and stores. The company expects to name new presidents for each of its brands, who will report to Horowitz at what it called the appropriate time.

According to Martinez, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. continues to make encouraging progress executing on its strategy to provide compelling, customer-focused shopping experiences based on clearly defined brand positions. He used the occasion of the Horowitz announcement to indicate that the company is pleased with its performance for the quarter to date and is on track to deliver continued sequential improvement in comparable sales and achieve the profit expectations is set coming into the quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the company operated 790 stores in the United States and 175 stores across Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.