Skip to main content

Teen retailer’s turnaround continues with exec moves

2/9/2015

Teen and tween retailer Aeropostale named a new COO and CFO and said its fourth quarter results, while still in negative territory, were not as bad as feared.


Aeropostale said current Executive Vice President and CFO Marc Miller would become the company’s new COO and filling his role as CFO would be David Dick. The personnel moves were made in conjunction with the release of preliminary fourth quarter results which saw the company’s same store sales decline 9% on top of a prior year decline of 15%. Net sales decreased 11% to $594.5 million, from $670.0 million in the year ago period.


Although sales declined, the company said better than expected sales, margins, and expense management for the month of January allowed it to lose less money than planned. The company now expects it fourth quarter operating income will range from a negative $2 million to a positive $2 million with a net loss in the range of one cent to six cents a share. That compares to earlier guidance which called for a much steep operating loss in the range of $18 million to $23 million and a net loss of 25 cents to 31 cents a share.


"I am encouraged with the progress we are making and that we were able to deliver higher comparable sales and margins in January, which allowed us to exceed our updated guidance. With today's announced executive appointments, we are returning to an organizational structure that existed when Aeropostale registered its most significant gains in sales and profitability,” said Aeropostale CEO Julian Geiger. “As a result of this progress and of the changes we are making, I believe we are better positioned to restore the luster of the Aeropostale brand and our overall financial results, as we continue to navigate through a challenging retail environment."


Miller joined Aeropostale in 2005 as vice president of strategic planning and new business development and was promoted to group vice president in 2006, senior vice president in 2007 and appointed CFO in 2010. In his new role, he will be responsible for all aspects of supply chain management, including production, planning and allocation, and logistics, real estate and construction. He will also be responsible for human resources, and continue to be responsible for strategic planning and new business development, including international licensing.


Dick joins Aeropostale from dELiA’s where he served as CFO since 2009. He also spent 13 years in financial roles at Linens ‘n Things.


"We are thrilled to have someone of David's caliber join Aeropostale as chief financial officer,” Geiger said. “David's extensive financial and retail experience will support and facilitate our corporate goals as we navigate through this important juncture in Aeropostale's history. We expect a seamless transition as Marc assists David during his first few months at Aeropostale."


X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds