Ralph Lauren’s “way forward” does not include CEO Stefan Larsson

Ralph Lauren’s Iconic Style campaign

U.S. fashion label Ralph Lauren and its CEO Stefan Larsson have mutually agreed to part ways on May 1.

Ralph Lauren will conduct a search to fill the executive position while Mr. Larsson is still at the company. Although Mr. Larsson will remain at Ralph Lauren until May, CFO Jane Nielsen will take the lead on the brand’s Way Forward plan announced in June (see story).

Boy bye
The Way Forward plan was established to refocus Ralph Lauren’s offerings with a concentration on what made its designs iconic, but for today’s consumers.

“Stefan and I share a love and respect for the DNA of this great brand, and we both recognize the need to evolve,” said Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer, in a brand statement. “However, we have found that we have different views on how to evolve the creative and consumer-facing parts of the business.

“After many conversations with one another, and our board of directors, we have agreed to part ways,” he said. “I am grateful for what Stefan has contributed during his time with us, setting us in the right direction with the Way Forward Plan.”

In addition to Mr. Larsson’s departure being announced, Ralph Lauren released its third quarter fiscal 2017 results. Net revenues for the quarter were $1.7 billion, consistent with the Way Forward Plan.

Ralph Lauren summer 2017 

During the quarter, Ralph Lauren re-focused and evolved its core product offerings for fall 2017 and continued to moderate its discounting across retail and wholesale.

Ralph Lauren also better matched its demand by lowering its inventory levels by 23 percent and reduced its SKUs for spring 2017 by more than 20 percent.

“This quarter, we continued to drive the execution of the Way Forward plan — refocusing and evolving out iconic product core, cutting our lead times and aligning supply with demand,” Mr. Larsson said in a statement.

Ms. Nielsen added to Mr. Larsson’s thoughts, saying, “These critical steps are moving us in the right direction to intensify our execution of the Way Forward plan that will strengthen the brand and return us to long-term profitable growth.”

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