Dive Brief:
- Effective Friday is the departure of Moschino general manager Stefano Secchi, who is reportedly leaving by mutual agreement due to different views regarding the brand’s future strategic vision.
- Moschino parent company Aeffe, which also owns Alberta Ferretti, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini and Pollini, is additionally losing its USA president, Michelle Stein, who is stepping down today after a 40-year tenure, according to WWD. On Saturday, Khoa Nguyen, Aeffe USA’s senior vice president, will take over as Aeffe USA president.
- Earlier this month, Moschino also saw the exit of creative director Jeremy Scott, who left the house after 10 years in the position.
Dive Insight:
Moschino is going through a spring cleaning of sorts.
Last week, Jeremy Scott left his position as creative director after a decade, and is currently creating an upcycled collection for Hyundai that features discarded car parts.
Then on Wednesday, Aeffe released a board statement on the termination upon mutual consent of the employment of the Moschino general manager Secchi. “I would like to thank Stefano Secchi for his professional contribution until today,” said Massimo Ferretti, Aeffe’s executive president. “We wish Mr. Secchi all success in his future career.”
Secchi said, “I wish to thank Mr. Ferretti for the opportunity to lead this wonderful brand in the last four years; despite the pandemic and the adverse economic circumstances, we have completed important strategic projects for the brand.”
Today also marks the last day of a 40-year tenure for Stein, Aeffe USA’s president. Stein, who will stay on as an ambassador for the next six months, told WWD that she’s excited about her future plans.
“I was looking for some new experiences and a new chapter and a little more diversity in my life. I’ve worked with this company since the inception of the subsidiary here in New York, and really led and brought so many brands under the umbrella of Aeffe to the fore, and really guided them through their development in the North American market. I’d love to do that for some other brands as well,” she said.
Taking over as president of Aeffe USA is Nguyen, who has been with the company since 2004 and previously served as sales director of Jean Paul Gaultier, and vice president of both Moschino and Pollini. He left the company in 2015 to work for Balenciaga before returning as senior vice president in 2017.
Aeffe’s USA division has been particularly important for the company. Earlier this month, it reported 2022 sales in America had climbed year-on-year to $26.8 million (24.6 million euros) on a 7% turnover, and said the increase was directly attributable to a 34% increase in the area’s wholesale channel. Overall, Aeffe Group reported a net loss of $10 million in 2022 on revenues of $379 million, compared to a $13 million profit the previous year, and attributed the loss to a nonrecurring tax benefit and COVID-19 challenges.
Aeffe’s board of directors also announced this week that a proposed merger by incorporation into Aeffe of its wholly-owned subsidiaries Moschino and Aeffe Retail has been approved.
