Capri Holdings — owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo — named Justin Boxford as its chief executive officer, effective Jan. 4. Current CEO and Chairman John Idol will retire after about two decades of leadership at the luxury company, though he’ll remain a senior adviser through the end of March.
Boxford will also join the board of directors, and current lead director, Robin Freestone, will become independent chairman of the board, per a Wednesday press release. The new CEO has nearly 30 years of experience in the luxury and beauty spaces, most recently serving as global president of luxury beauty brands at Estée Lauder Companies.
“This announcement is the culmination of a thorough Board-led process to identify Capri’s next Chief Executive Officer, and we are confident that Justin is the right leader to guide Capri in its next chapter of growth,” Freestone said in a statement. “He brings an exceptional track record of revitalizing and growing global luxury and beauty brands, deep international experience and a people-centered leadership approach. We look forward to Justin leveraging his expertise and perspectives to build on the strengths of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo and pursue the opportunities ahead.”
The shift comes at a pivotal time in Capri’s broader turnaround efforts. The company’s total Q2 revenue dropped 5.5% year over year to $809 million, with Michael Kors driving much of that decline while Jimmy Choo saw sales gains.
The results released in October actually signaled some potential improvement for Michael Kors, according to analysts at the time.
“Michael Kors trends improved sequentially as new fall product arrived and inventory availability improved, though we look for additional proof points to support management’s expectation for a return to growth in 4Q,” TD Cowen analysts said in an emailed note in late October.
Reports earlier this year swirled about potential investor interest in acquiring the Michael Kors brand, though Capri did not respond to Retail Dive’s request for comment at the time.
Boxford in a statement about his CEO appointment Wednesday expressed excitement about building on the foundations of both the Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors brands with Capri’s global teams.
