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Molly Langenstein becomes CEO & president of Chico's FAS

30 Apr '20
5 min read
Pic: Chico
Pic: Chico's FAS

Chico's FAS has promoted Molly Langenstein to CEO and president of Chico's FAS, effective June 24, 2020. Langenstein is a 30-year retail fashion veteran with a proven track record of success in revitalising sales and profitability. Since August 2019, she has served as president of the company's two largest brands, Chico's and White House Black Market.

The company recently posted one of the fastest turnarounds in fashion retail with three consecutive quarters of unprecedented growth with a 9.4 per cent increase in sales from Q1 to Q4 of fiscal year 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company also announced that current CEO and president Bonnie Brooks, who stepped into her role in April 2019 to lead the company's turnaround, will now become executive chair of the board of directors and continue to oversee the company's strategic direction. William Simon, a member of the board and former president and CEO of Wal-Mart US and senior advisor to KKR private equity firm, will assume the role of lead independent director. David Walker, who has served as chair of the board for the past five years, will remain a member of the board of directors. Langenstein also will become a member of the board of directors. All appointments are effective June 24, 2020.

These three new simultaneous leadership appointments are the result of a planned succession designed to strengthen and provide ongoing stability and continuity to the business, and to further support the company's future.

“Langenstein joined the company in August to reposition and rebuild our two significant apparel brands. She has proven to be an exceptional leader who quickly seized the immediate opportunities of improving product assortments, driving sales, and recruiting senior talent, particularly in merchandising, digital and marketing," said Brooks. "Throughout the fall period, the company demonstrated its capacity to dramatically change its performance trajectory, which continued strongly into the pre-COVID-19 spring season. Langenstein has shown superb leadership during both this high growth phase and particularly in the current environment, as we pivot to a post COVID-19 operating model. The new culture of agility, and the ability to grow sales while reducing expenses, has already served us well during this period, and I am confident we have a path forward for a sustainable future with Langenstein at the helm of the company."

As president of Chico's and White House Black Market for the past nine months, Langenstein led the apparel group, including its brick-and-mortar boutiques and digital platforms, while increasing sales, product quality and elevating taste and style.

"I'm honoured to lead this company of customer and product obsessed people and three unique brands, each thriving in their own market white space to provide solutions that women say give them condence and joy," said Langenstein. "Starting next week, all three brands will begin to open stores in a phased rollout to immediately deliver sales."

"We have operated primarily as a digital company. We equipped our store management with Style Connect, our proprietary digital styling tool, to communicate directly with many of our customers to drive sales to digital fulfillment. Both our digital performance and our customers comments demonstrate that our investments in innovative technology have benefited our business, which we will continue to enhance in our post COVID-19 operating model," added Langenstein.

In addition to these appointments, the company has announced a significant restructure of the overall organisation, primarily to achieve a leaner, streamlined structure more efficiently aligned to the needs of the business, and to achieve meaningful cost reductions of approximately 30 percent across the company.

As previously announced on April 27, Chico's FAS has a strong financial position consisting of cash, investments and undrawn funds available in its asset-based credit facility along with wholly-owned significant real estate assets of multiple distribution centres and office buildings. In addition, the company has taken prudent actions to reserve cash and to significantly reduce overall expenses, to ensure it remains strong during this period.

In addition, starting on May 4, Chico's FAS will reopen its boutiques for three additional types of revenue generation: the fulfillment of national online orders through store inventories; reintroducing buy-online-pick up in store (BOPIS) with contactless curbside pickup service; and introducing a new shop-by-appointment service for each of its Chico's, White House Black Market and Soma brands.

These new offerings will be available in locations that are allowing retailers to reopen on a limited basis and will be consistent with all local health and safety guidelines and regulations.

Style Connect, the company's proprietary digital styling tool, has been a significant enabler of the above reopening activities and has contributed to the robust digital sales during the temporary store closure period for the company.

Chico's FAS is a Florida-based fashion company founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, Fla. The company reinvented the fashion retail experience by creating fashion communities anchored by our Most Amazing Personal Service, which put the customer at the center of everything we do. As one of the leading fashion retailers in North America, Chico's FAS is a company of three unique brands – Chico's, White House Black Market and Soma – each thriving in their own white space, founded by women, led by women, providing solutions that millions of women say give them confidence and joy.

As of February 1, 2020, the company operated 1,341 stores in the US and Canada and sold merchandise through 70 international franchise locations in Mexico and 2 domestic franchise airport locations.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)

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