Dive Brief:
- Thomas Edwards is leaving his position as chief financial officer, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Capri Holdings effective June 20, according to a Tuesday press release.
- Following Edwards’ departure, Rajal Mehta, chief financial officer at Michael Kors, will take over as interim CFO. Capri Holdings Chief Supply Chain Officer Patricia Gabriel will continue to lead global supply chain and operations, and both Mehta and Gabriel will report to Capri CEO John Idol, per the release. Capri said it has begun searching for Edwards’ replacement.
- Edwards will move to Macy’s Inc. effective June 22, where he will take over the role from chief operating officer and CFO Adrian Mitchell, who is leaving the retailer. In a statement, Macy’s Chairman and CEO Tony Spring called Edwards’ hire the completion of a “purposeful evolution of the Macy’s, Inc. leadership team.”
Dive Insight:
During Edwards’s nearly eight-year-long tenure at Capri, the company acquired both Gianni Versace and Jimmy Choo and rebranded from Michael Kors Holdings to Capri Holdings.
However, the company is currently struggling to recover following the termination of a proposed merger with rival firm Tapestry. In February, Capri posted its first earnings since the deal fell through, noting a year-over-year revenue decline of 11.6% to $1.3 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Revenue for the period fell for every brand, with the biggest decline coming from Versace, which dropped 15% to $193 million.
In its statement announcing Edwards’ departure, Idol said Capri has “highly capable financial and operational organizations with seasoned executives to ensure continuity and stability during this transition.”
Idol added that he was optimistic about the company’s outlook, and pointed to its February investor day revenue forecast, which projected as much as $6.3 billion in long term annual revenue.
“We remain confident in the initiatives shared at our recent Investor Day and continue to believe we have the right strategies underway to return Capri Holdings to growth,” he said in Tuesday’s statement.
According to Simeon Siegel, analyst for BMO Capital Markets, Edwards’ departure may be a sign that Capri is planning to sell off some of its brands.
In emailed comments, Siegel said that Edwards joined Capri seemingly “with the intention of buying brands to build the Global Fashion Luxury Group platform, rather than sell them.” He added that if Capri “is now hypothetically shrinking the portfolio, that may not be the prospect he signed up for and could therefore be looking for another opportunity.”
The Edwards announcement came on the same day that Donatella Versace’s departure as creative director of Versace became effective. She is being succeeded by former Miu Miu design and image director Dario Vitale, whose appointment has fueled rumors that Capri is planning to sell Versace to Prada Group.
