Welcome to the Monthly News Brief, a new publication from Kirk Palmer Associates’ Daily News Brief team that summarizes market-moving news and themes each month. Subscribe to ensure you’re on the list.
Leadership Changes
If 2023 was the year of the outsider CEO, 2024 is shaping up to be the year of the insider. This trend gained steam in October as CVS, The RealReal, and Estée Lauder named longtime executives to the top spot, following in the footsteps of Nike’s appointment of “Intern CEO” Elliott Hill last month.
Across the industry, CEO turnover reached a high in October, up 25% from September. Other high-profile appointments included:
- Everlane named former PacSun and Fear of God Chief Alfred Chang
- Ross announced that Boot Barn Chief James Conroy would succeed Barbara Rentler
- Signet appointed PetSmart’s top executive J.K. Symancyk, succeeding Gina Drozos
- PetSmart backfilled Symancyk’s role with former Academy Sports + Outdoors Chief Ken Hicks
- Gucci promoted deputy CEO Stefano Cantino to succeed Jean-François Palus
Plus more: Aloha Collection, Peloton Interactive, Moovlab, Draper James, Performance Beauty Group, Bally, Courrèges, JoJo Maman Bébé, Tanya Taylor, Narvar, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, DFS, Threads Styling, Proenza Schouler, Revlon, UMA Home, Victoria Beckham, Malbon Golf, Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Scarlett Gasque, Ilia Beauty, KMD Brands, The Inkey List, and With Clarity
Financing/M&A
It was a busy month for M&A deals across the industry.
A number of companies changed hands, including Yoox Net-a-Porter (sold by Richemont to Mytheresa), Hodinkee (to Watches of Switzerland), Hatch Maternity (exited to GoGlobal), Revelyst (sold by Vista Outdoor to Strategic Value Partners), End Clothing (Carlyle to Apollo) and Burrow (sold to Havenly Brands - its fifth acquisition of a DTC home brand in two years).
Capri Holdings did not change hands, as the FTC won its bid to block Tapestry’s planned $8.5 Billion acquisition of the Michael Kors’ parent company.
Neither did Mulberry, who thwarted Frasers’ acquisition bid after a month-long feud.
Other brands went up for sale, including Dockers, Y/Project, Jacquemus (minority investment), and Anastasia Beverly Hills (potentially).
Bed Bath & Beyond’s comeback started to take shape, as parent company Beyond Inc. made strategic investments in distressed home retailers The Container Store and Kirkland’s with licensing agreements to relaunch the brand via co-branded products and small-format stores.
Industry News
‘Tis the season of price cuts as major retailers like Target and Walmart promised to lower the price of goods for the holiday, Amazon hosted its October Prime Day and Best Buy announced Black Friday deals as early as October.
Offering even steeper discounts, Direct-from-China, ultra-low-priced marketplaces gained steam in the West as The Children’s Place launched on Shein, Amazon rolled out $20 price caps for sofas, and AliExpress launched incentives to attract US retailers.
The global quest for growth continued as retailers planted flags in new markets, with Foot Locker opening its first store in India, On opening in Australia, Fanatics entering the UK, Birkenstock expanding in South Korea, and Jacquemus opening its inaugural outpost in the US, which had hundreds of people lined up on opening day.
In notable collaboration news:
- Social media savvy brands Stanley and e.l.f. collaborated on tumblers with lip oil holders, exclusively sold at Target
- Crocs launched the instantly-viral “Crocs for Dogs,” in collaboration with Bark
- Fanatics and lululemon teamed up to create licensed apparel for the National Hockey League
- Prada partnered with space company Axiom Space to develop real-life spacesuits for NASA’s Artemis III moon mission
- “Wicked”movie merch began rolling out across dozens of brands including Aerie, Target, H&M, Bombas, Béis, Crocs, Gap and Starbucks
Earning Reports
Top beauty companies projected a slowdown in key markets like the US and China, a sentiment echoed by Coty, Estée Lauder, and L’Oréal. Ulta said this year and next “will be transitional years" while rolling out a new set of long-term targets.
A bifurcated luxury industry reported declining sales at LVMH, Ermenegildo Zegna Group, and Kering, while Prada and Hermes posted downturn-defying results and double-digit growth.
Footwear had a strong start to this earnings season with Deckers Outdoor and Adidas both raising their fiscal year outlook on the back of strong results. Meanwhile, Sketchers hit a “record-breaking” quarterly sales of $2.35 Billion.
Top-Clicked Articles
Of the ~500 article links we curated in October, the top clicked articles were:
- Why Attempts to Hire Diverse Executives Fail (KPA)
- Sam’s Club executive to exit due to Walmart relocation policy (Bloomberg)
- Estée Lauder succession drama ends with insider pick (WSJ)
- The New Rules of Workwear (Elle)
- Amazon AWS CEO says quit if you don’t want to return to office (Fast Company)
Executive Placements
We are an executive search partner to the world's most compelling brands. This month, our placements started at:
- Everlane (CEO)
- lululemon (eCommerce)
- Wolverine Woldwide (President)
- The Children's Place (Accounting)
- ALC (Board)
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