Dive Brief:
- Capri Holdings Limited has appointed its chairman and CEO, John D. Idol, to the role of CEO at Michael Kors, according to a Tuesday press release. Idol will take on the role as an additional title, succeeding Cedric Wilmotte.
- Philippa Newman was promoted to chief product officer at Michael Kors, per the same release. Her appointment is effective Dec. 2, and she will report to Idol. Newman will oversee merchandising, production, licensing and design across all product categories. Newman will work in partnership with designer Michael Kors, who is the brand’s chief creative officer.
- Wilmotte, who was named CEO of Michael Kors in April 2023, will leave the organization “as part of its reorganization plans and expense reduction initiatives,” per the release. In a statement, Idol thanked him “for his significant contributions over the last 16 years” and wished him “all the best in his future endeavors.”
Dive Insight:
The executive shifts come at a time when Capri is facing increasing revenue losses, with the biggest declines coming from Michael Kors, the largest brand in the company’s stable.
Idol, who has been CEO of Capri since 2003, will be the third CEO of the Michael Kors brand since 2021.
Joshua Schulman, now CEO of Burberry, was named CEO of Michael Kors in 2021, but left the brand and Capri after less than a year. He was replaced by Wilmotte, who left an executive role at Capri-owned Versace to take the helm at Michael Kors in 2023.
Newman, who was formerly president of the accessories and footwear division at Michael Kors, joined the brand nearly 16 years ago, per her LinkedIn page. In the release, she said she was looking forward to working with the rest of the leadership team to reinvigorate the Michael Kors brand.
“Michael Kors has strong brand equity and tremendous potential,” Newman said. “I am confident that by consolidating design, merchandising, production, and licensing under a unified team we can more effectively execute our strategies, including delivering more targeted product to different consumer cohorts, in order to return Michael Kors to growth.”
Revenue at Michael Kors has been on the decline since the third quarter of fiscal 2023, when the brand reported a year-over-year decline of 7.2% to $1.1 billion. Since then, the luxury fashion label has watched its earnings decay steadily, and, most recently, Q2 revenue for fiscal 2025 dropped 16% year over year to $738 million, per a report released earlier this month.
“As I stated on our recent investor call, we are moving quickly to implement strategic initiatives to stabilize revenues and return to growth,” Idol said in Tuesday’s press release. “This reorganization reinforces Michael Kors’ plans to engage and energize both new and loyal consumers, create exciting fashion and core products with compelling value, improve store productivity and return our wholesale business to growth.”
Capri, which also owns Jimmy Choo, saw the termination of a planned merger with Tapestry, which owns Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, nearly two weeks after the $8.5 billion deal was blocked by the FTC.
“Michael Kors has been really struggling so it’s not a surprise that changes are being made,” David Swartz, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research Services, said in an email. “Even with the problems in the luxury market, the brand seems to be underperforming comparable brands like Coach and Ralph Lauren. Michael Kors has seemingly lost touch with its customers. The brand is critical for Capri as it generates most of its operating income. It is likely that the takeover process was a distraction for management and has negatively impacted the brand.”
