Dive Brief:
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Apparel conglomerate PVH on Monday announced the appointment of Cheryl Abel-Hodges as chief executive officer of Calvin Klein. She replaces Steve Shiffman, who is "leaving the company to pursue other interests," according to a company press release.
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She had been serving as group president of Calvin Klein North America and The Underwear Group. As CEO of Calvin Klein, she reports to Stefan Larsson, PVH's president.
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Larsson himself stepped into that newly created role just May 21, reporting to the company's Chairman and CEO Emanuel Chirico.
Dive Insight:
There has been a fair amount of turmoil at Calvin Klein this year, starting with the closure of its Madison Avenue flagship in New York City at the New Year and later the dropping of its high-end 205W39NYC men's line and the sale earlier this month of its women's jeans brand license to apparel company G-III.
The brand also had a high profile breakup with superstar designer Raf Simons, who left his position as chief creative officer in December.
Larsson appears to be already making his mark and getting his team in place to salvage the iconic brand, which has had several missteps in recent years. "PVH overall is still heavily dependent on the North America wholesale and outlet channels," Jane Hali & Associates analysts wrote in comments to Retail Dive earlier this year. "The CK Jeans relaunch was not fruitful and there were no changes for Q4. We expect to see an improved CK Jean product for Fall'19 delivery."
While Abel-Hodges' appointment may be something of a shakeup, she's also intimately acquainted with the brand, having held various leadership positions across the organization since joining PVH in 2006. As group president of Calvin Klein North America, she helped set its strategic direction and at the Underwear Group, led design, merchandising, product development and planning for all of PVH's underwear and women's intimates businesses, according to the company's release.
