Four Retailers to Watch in 2015
A number of retailers saw changes at the top this past year. Here are the ones I found the most interesting:
Abercrombie & Fitch: The abrupt departure of longtime chief Michael Jeffries presents the former teen powerhouse with an opportunity to bring in a badly needed breath of fresh air.
In his day, no one could touch Jeffries, whose transformation of Abercrombie into a cool, exclusive club is a textbook example of brilliant, holistic retail branding. But Jeffries failed to keep up with the changing times. He seemed blind to the recession. His original fans were replaced by a new generation of teens, who had a hankering for cheaper and more fashion-forward styles.
Whoever gets the top job at Abercrombie will inherit a brand that, despite some updates, still seems frozen in time. The new chief will have to reinvent the brand’s persona and stale merchandise mix while steering it though a disrupting marketplace. It’s a tremendous challenge — and opportunity.
American Apparel: The ax fell just before Christmas: The American Apparel board fired its controversial founder and former CEO, Dov Charney. The board terminated the CEO and also ended its relationship with him as a consultant following a lengthy internal investigation. Charney has been dogged with repeated allegations of sexual misconduct and less-than-savory behavior for years.
Stepping into the CEO spot is longtime fashion executive Paula Schneider. She joins the brand at a rough time: Net losses totaled $40.9 million for the first nine months of the year. And no one expects Charney to go quietly into the night: Firing Charney for cause could embroil the company in yet another long and costly legal battle.
Gap Inc.: In what some experts are calling a sea change, Gap chief executive Glenn Murphy on Feb. 1, 2015, will hand over the reins to a new type of CEO, one with a digital pedigree. The incoming chief, Art Peck, joined Gap in 2005 and has held senior leadership positions across nearly every area of the company. But since 2012, he has served as president of the company’s growth, innovation and digital division, with responsibility for the digital strategy of the company’s $2 billion-plus e-commerce business.
Peck is the first digital guy to make it to CEO of a major specialty retail company. It’s safe to say he won’t be the last. (It will be interesting to see where Glenn Murphy ends up. He’s too valuable to retire from the retail scene.)
J.C. Penney: The retailer will make history this August when Marvin Ellison, who became president in November, officially takes the reins as CEO. His appointment is significant for a couple of reasons, including that he will be one of the very few black CEOs in the U.S. retail industry.
Ellison is a gamble of sorts for the retailer in that he is an operations guy, as opposed to a merchandising one. He spent 12 years at Home Depot, most recently as executive VP. Earlier, he served as the chain’s senior VP global logistics. Prior to Home Depot, Ellison was at Target, also in operations.
Some industry experts wonder if Ellison is the right fit for an apparel- and soft-lines-driven company like Penney. Others say that with his penchant for details and emphasis on execution, he is exactly what the chain needs. And remember what happened the last time the chain brought in a flashy merchandiser?
Marianne Wilson
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