Dive Brief:
- PVH Corp. Chief Financial Officer Zac Coughlin is leaving the apparel retailer to take the CFO spot at SiriusXM, the companies announced Tuesday.
- Melissa Stone, a 20-year PVH veteran who is executive vice president of global financial planning and analysis, will take on Coughlin’s duties during a global search for his replacement.
- Coughlin, who arrived at PVH in early 2022, will stay through the end of the year and participate in the company’s Q3 earnings call on Dec. 4.
Dive Insight:
PVH, which runs Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, will be looking for a CFO while it’s still working on a turnaround.
Four years ago, about when Coughlin arrived, PVH was newly focused on what are now its marquee labels, having sold off its Heritage Brands intellectual property — including Izod, Van Heusen and Arrow — to Authentic Brands Group.
In a statement, PVH CEO Stefan Larsson said that Stone “has extensive experience across our company’s financial operations and brings a deep understanding of our global business to this interim role.”
Coughlin’s departure is unlikely to be very disruptive, in part because Stone could provide some stability and the revamp predates his arrival, according to Needham analysts led by Tom Nikic.
“While we liked working with Mr. Coughlin, and C-suite turnover always brings risks, we'd note that the company's overarching strategy (the ‘PVH+ Plan’) wasn't really ‘his’ strategy per se, as it was unveiled less than 2 weeks after he came aboard,” Nikic said in a Tuesday client note.
PVH in its release also reaffirmed its Q3 and full-year 2025 guidance from August. The company in its earlier reports had said it expected 2025 revenues to grow as much as low single-digits, up from its previous expectations of flat-to-slightly-increased revenues. The company then also reiterated its expectation that operating margin would reach about 8.5%, including the impact of tariffs.
In June, the company had a goal of $12.5 billion in revenue by the end of this year, though tariffs and the consumer landscape have been challenges, Coughlin told analysts during a Q2 conference call.
The guidance is more important than the loss of the CFO, Nikic said.
“Considering the quarter is already over, and we're a couple of weeks into Q4 (albeit, with the most important weeks still to come), we think this demonstrates the low risk to numbers for this year following the downward revision that occurred in early-June,” he said.
