FORT MYERS, Fla., July 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- Chico's FAS, Inc.
(NYSE: CHS) (the "Company" or Chico's FAS) today announced an organizational
structure and leadership appointments aligned to drive a simpler,
nimbler organization focused on the Company's priorities of
accelerating sustainable sales growth.
- Bonnie Brooks has been
appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of
Chico's FAS and will remain a
member of the Chico's FAS
Board.
- Responsibility for the Company's apparel brands has been
consolidated under one leader. Molly
Langenstein, a 30-year retail industry veteran, with a
proven track record of building multiple vertical successful
brands, has been appointed President, Apparel Group, effective
August 1, 2019 and will oversee all
business activities for the Chico's and White House Black Market brands.
Ms. Langenstein joins Chico's FAS
after nearly three decades with Macy's, Inc., where she most
recently served as General Business Manager, Ready-to-Wear. In that
role, she led a multibillion-dollar business and was responsible
for all buying, planning and product development for stores and
digital, including leading Macy's Sourcing organization.
- The Company's intimate brands, Soma® and TellTale™, will
continue to be led by Mary van
Praag, President, Intimates Group, who joined the Company in
September 2017.
"Since being appointed Interim CEO, Bonnie has moved quickly to
sharpen the Company's focus on core priorities that have stabilized
the business and positioned Chico's FAS to deliver improved top- and
bottom-line results," said David
Walker, Chair of the Board. "We received interest from a
number of qualified external CEO candidates who brought deep
merchant experience. The Board determined, however, that the best
way to build on the progress underway at this time is to appoint
Bonnie as CEO. In addition to providing continuity, Bonnie's
leadership enables us to continue leveraging both her experience
driving numerous successful turnarounds at other apparel retailers
as well as the knowledge she already has of Chico's FAS."
Ms. Brooks said, "The leadership structure announced today will
strengthen the organization, create clear lines of responsibility
and accelerate our sales driving priorities. I am confident we are
focused on the right areas and moving in the right direction with
stronger performance expected in the second half of the year.
Internal and external stakeholders have expressed strong support
for the work we are pursuing. I and associates across the Company
are energized by this work and the opportunities ahead. I look
forward to working as CEO with Molly, Mary and the outstanding team
we have in place to deliver to our shareholders the value that I
know we are capable of achieving."
Commenting on Ms. Langenstein's appointment as President,
Apparel Group, Ms. Brooks said, "Molly is an experienced
strategist, manager and merchant with an exceptional record of
success revitalizing sales and profitability in the retail fashion
industry. Her ability to re-imagine a business, optimize
organizational design and enhance the customer experience ideally
suits what we need to improve the performance of our apparel
brands. Molly has led multiple vertical brands to success and some
have risen to become top performers in the country. We welcome
Molly to the Company and are excited about the contributions she
will deliver at Chico's and
WHBM."
Ms. Langenstein said, "I am excited to be joining Chico's FAS and to have the opportunity to
lead Chico's and White House Black
Market. I believe Chico's and WHBM
are unique brands with the potential for growth that far exceeds
what they are delivering today. I look forward to tapping into my
experience in merchandising and helping the brands succeed against
a backdrop of rapid industry change to reinvigorate sales and
consumer enthusiasm."
The Company commented that Karen
McKibbin, Chico's
Brand President, tendered her
resignation earlier this week to pursue other opportunities.
Ms. Brooks said, "We extend our thanks to Karen for the many
contributions she has made since joining the Company in April and
wish her well in her future endeavors. With enhancements at
Chico's in quality, overall
aesthetic and product mix, customers responded favorably to our
Spring and Summer assortments, and we have a solid base from which
to build for the Fall and Winter seasons."
Company Affirms Fiscal Second Quarter and Full-Year
Outlook
As previously announced, under Ms. Brooks' leadership, the
Company has reset priorities for growth to focus on three distinct
areas. These include driving stronger sales through improved
product and marketing; optimizing the customer journey by
simplifying, digitizing and extending the Company's unique and
personalized service; and transforming sourcing and supply chain
operations to increase product speed to market and improve
quality.
Given the progress being made on the Company's new operating
priorities, Chico's FAS is today
affirming its fiscal 2019 second quarter and full year outlook
provided on June 11, 2019. The
Company will discuss its progress, financial performance and
outlook for the year in greater detail when it reports fiscal 2019
second quarter results.
About Bonnie Brooks
Ms. Brooks has been a member of the Chico's FAS Board since 2016. She has more
than 30 years of global executive leadership experience in retail
and merchandising, including having led three major international
department store turnarounds at Hudson's Bay Company, the Lane Crawford Joyce
Group in Asia, and Holt Renfrew
& Company.
From 2014 to 2016, Ms. Brooks served as the Vice Chair of
Hudson's Bay Company, a fashion
retail group operating through multiple banners, including
Hudson's Bay, Home Outfitters,
Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue,
Saks Off Fifth and Kaufhof. Ms. Brooks joined Hudson's Bay in 2008 as Chief Executive
Officer and President. From 2012 to 2014, Ms. Brooks served as
President of Hudson's Bay Company,
responsible for both Hudson's Bay
and Lord & Taylor department stores
USA.
From 1997 to 2008, Ms. Brooks was based in Hong Kong serving as an executive officer,
including as President of the Lane Crawford Joyce Group, a women's
fashion retailer with over 500 stores in Asia. She also served as Global Merchandise
Manager for Dickson Concepts (International) Limited, a luxury
retail group and owner of Harvey Nichols, UK.
Prior to that, Ms. Brooks spent over a decade at Holt Renfrew
& Company, a Canada-based
fashion department store, in roles that included Executive Vice
President and General Merchandise Manager. Ms. Brooks serves
on the Board of Directors of Rogers Communications Inc., a Canadian
diversified communications and media company, and she is a trustee
of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, a North American real
estate owner and developer. Ms. Brooks was formerly a director of
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. She is a member of the Order of
Canada, the highest honor for
Canadian citizens.
Ms. Brooks holds a Master of Business Administration from the
Richard Ivey School of Business, Western
University, and holds three honorary doctorate degrees.
Ms. Brooks' status will officially change upon receipt of work
authorization.
About Molly
Langenstein
Ms. Langenstein is a 30-year retail industry veteran, including
nearly three decades at Macy's, Inc., where she was promoted to
numerous executive positions with increasing scope and
responsibility.
From 2017 to 2019, Ms. Langenstein served as General Business
Manager, Ready-to-Wear at Macy's. In that role, she led a
multibillion dollar business and was responsible for all buying,
planning and product development for stores and digital, and
leading Macy's Sourcing organization.
Previously, she served as Chief Private Brands Officer of Macy's
and Bloomingdales from 2015 to 2017, responsible for the
organization that concepts, designs, sources and markets Macy's
portfolio of highly successful private brands of apparel,
accessories and home goods. In this capacity, she also had
oversight of finance, operations, logistics, human resources,
product development and technology.
Prior to that role, Ms. Langenstein served as Executive Vice
President of Private Brands for Men's and Children's Wear at Macy's
Private Brands from 2013 to 2014, where she led cross-functional
collaborative efforts to execute strategy and the turnaround of the
division's online performance, growing the platform significantly
and establishing private brands as Macy's top digital content
provider.
In 2012, she was named Executive Vice President, Group
Merchandise Manager of Millennial, creating five new millennial
brands and growing market share over a two-year period.
Earlier, her career at Macy's included assignments as General
Merchandise Manager for Men's and Kids at Macy's Florida (Miami), for Millennial at Macy's West
(San Francisco) and for
Ready-to-Wear at Macy's North (Minneapolis). She began her work in the
apparel retail industry as a buyer at Burdines.
Ms. Langenstein received her Bachelor of Science degree in
fashion merchandising from Kent State
University.
About Mary van
Praag
Ms. van Praag is President, Intimates Group of Chico's FAS, which includes the Soma® and
TellTale™ brands. She joined the Company in September 2017, bringing over 30 years of global,
omnichannel leadership experience.
Ms. van Praag has a proven track record of developing brands and
executing growth strategies. She is recognized as a passionate
leader that has enabled the Soma organization to achieve excellence
by inspiring capabilities for long-term success. Under Ms. van
Praag's leadership, Soma's comps turned strongly positive,
innovation is center to key product launches, new partnerships
increased customer awareness, acquisition and sales, and she
successfully launched the Company's first digital only brand,
TellTale™.
Prior to joining Chico's FAS,
she was Chief Executive Officer of Perricone MD where she led the
prestige skincare brand through digital, broadcast and
international expansion. Previously, Ms. van Praag held
international and domestic executive leadership roles at Coty,
Inc., including serving as General Manager of OPI Products Inc., as
well as corporate and regional positions at Johnson &
Johnson.
In 2019, Ms. van Praag was named a Top Woman in Retail by Total
Retail and Women in Retail Leadership.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Business, with a Marketing
Major from Miami University, and
completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.
ABOUT CHICO'S FAS,
INC.
The Company, through its brands – Chico's, White House Black Market, Soma and
TellTale™ is a leading omnichannel specialty retailer of
women's private branded, sophisticated, casual-to-dressy clothing,
intimates and complementary accessories.
As of May 4, 2019, the Company
operated 1,410 stores in the U.S. and Canada and sold merchandise through 84
international franchise locations in Mexico and one domestic franchise airport
store. The Company's merchandise is also available at
www.chicos.com, www.chicosofftherack.com, www.whbm.com,
www.soma.com and www.mytelltale.com as well as through
third party channels.
For more detailed information on the Company, please go to our
corporate website at www.chicosfas.com. The information on our
corporate website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of
this press release or incorporated into our federal securities law
filings.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION
REFORM ACT OF 1995
This release contains statements that
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements,
including without limitation statements made in Mr. Walker's, Ms.
Brooks and Ms. Langenstein's quotes and in the section entitled
"Company Affirms Fiscal Second Quarter and Full-Year Outlook,"
relate to, among other things, expectations, estimates and
projections regarding the brand's new product initiatives and are
identified by use of the words "anticipate," "believe," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "outlook,"
"predict," "project," "should," "strategy," "target," "will,"
"would," "potential" and similar terms. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: the
extent of the market demand and overall level of spending for
women's private branded clothing and related accessories; the
effectiveness of our brand awareness and marketing programs; the
ability to successfully execute our business strategies and to
achieve the expected results from them, the successful recruitment
of leadership and the successful integration of new members of our
senior management team; and the risk that our investments in
merchandise or marketing initiatives may not deliver the results we
anticipate. Other risk factors for the Chico's FAS, Inc.'s business are detailed from
time to time in the Chico's FAS,
Inc.'s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K
and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These factors should be considered in evaluating
forward looking statements contained herein.
Contact:
Julie
Lorigan
Vice President – Investor Relations,
Public Relations and Corporate Communications
Chico's FAS, Inc.
(239) 346-4199
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SOURCE Chico's FAS, Inc.