Vince Holdings appoints Ralph Lauren veteran new CFO as Q3 sales dip

Global retailer Vince Holding Corp (Vince) reported a decline in sales due to a drop in its Rebecca Taylor and Vince brands, and it has appointed Ralph Lauren's former chief finance officer (CFO) as its own.

Isatou Ndure December 06 2023

Vince Holdings experienced a 14.7% decline in net sales, amounting to $84.1m as compared to the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal 2022.

The company said this was primarily driven by a 100% decrease in sales from the Rebecca Taylor and Parker segments, due to the Rebecca Taylor business being wound down in 2022 to focus its resources on the Vince brand.

Additionally, there was a minor 6.2% decrease in Vince brand sales.

Authentic Brands Group (ABG) entered a strategic partnership with Vince back in April, to acquire Vince brand’s intellectual property, worth $76.5m, which gave ABG a 75% stake in the newly formed subsidiary, ABG Vince.  

At the time Vince said it would use the proceeds from the new partnership with ABG to strengthen its overall liquidity position and increase its working capital.

Wholesale segment sales in the third quarter decreased 9.4% to $49.8m, whilst direct-to-consumer segment sales declined 1.2% to $34.2m compared to 2022.

Jack Schwefel, CEO of Vince said: "We are in the early stages of implementing our transformation programme which we expect to yield significant cost savings over the next three years to help offset the changes to our cost structure given the royalty fees with our partnership with Authentic Brands Group.”

The company shared plans for a transformation programme in early November aimed at driving enhanced profitability through improved gross margin and optimised expense structure.

Key results from Vince Holdings Q3:

  • Net sales decreased 14.7% to $84.1m from $98.6m the year before
  • Operating income was down to $2.8m compared to $9.4m the prior year
  • Net income went up to $983m in 2023 from -5.2m in 2022.

Schwefal added: “As we look ahead, we remain encouraged by the trends that we are seeing in the business as we continue to focus on driving improved profitability and positioning the company for long-term success."

Vince appoints John Szczepanski as new chief financial officer (CFO)

John Szczepanski's chief financial officer position will be effective from 2 January 2024. Vince said he brings extensive experience to the role having spent most of his career at Ralph Lauren Corporation.

He most recently served as CFO of the global supply chain, brands, and lifestyle group at Ralph Lauren. He has held various finance leadership roles and has contributed to a wide range of business areas such as North America wholesale, the brand portfolio, sourcing and global manufacturing, as well as logistics.

Before his tenure at Ralph Lauren, Szczepanski held multiple roles across corporate and divisional finance functions at MeadWestvaco, now Westrock and worked in corporate treasury at Fortune Brands, Inc.

In an official statement Schwefel said: “With over 20 years of experience in various corporate finance and supply chain leadership roles, John will be a tremendous asset to our leadership team. I look forward to working closely with John as we continue to progress our transformation programme and position Vince for long-term success.”

Vince also announced Michael Hand's resignation from the interim CFO position, however, he will remain with Vince for a transition period in a non-executive capacity.

Szczepanski commented: "I have long admired the Vince brand, and I am excited to join the leadership team at this pivotal time for the company as we execute the transformation programme and build on the momentum the team has driven to date."

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