The Company and Stefan Larsson Mutually Agree to Part Ways; Company
Will Conduct CEO Search; Execution of the Way Forward Plan Will Continue
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2017--
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) today announced that Stefan Larsson,
President and Chief Executive Officer, will depart from the Company on
May 1. A search for a new Chief Executive Officer will be conducted. The
Company will continue to execute the Way Forward Plan announced in June
2016, and Chief Financial Officer Jane Nielsen will lead the execution
of the Plan until a new CEO joins the Company.
Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, said:
“Stefan and I share a love and respect for the DNA of this great brand,
and we both recognize the need to evolve. 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. I am grateful for
what Stefan has contributed during his time with us, setting us in the
right direction with the Way Forward Plan.”
Mr. Lauren continued: “We have built a strong foundation for future
growth, including strengthening our team, refocusing our brands,
evolving our products and our marketing, improving our operations and
reducing our costs. The Board and I are committed to the execution of
the Way Forward Plan and continuing to move our business and iconic
brand forward as we have done for the last 50 years.”
Mr. Larsson said: “In June, we announced a plan to refocus the Company
on what made it iconic, evolve that for today and build our brand to its
full potential. That plan is on track -- I am proud of the progress the
whole team has made and I am committed to ensuring its uninterrupted
execution. Ralph will always be an inspiration to me, and I am grateful
to have had this experience.”
The Company will further discuss the initiatives underway as part of the
Way Forward Plan and its third quarter Fiscal 2017 results on its
earnings conference call today at 9:00 AM Eastern.
ABOUT RALPH LAUREN CORPORATION
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design,
marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in four
categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances. For 50 years,
Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently
developed across an expanding number of products, brands and
international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph
Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Collection, Double RL, Polo Ralph
Lauren, Polo Sport, Polo Ralph Lauren Children’s, Ralph Lauren Home,
Lauren Ralph Lauren, RLX, Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, American Living,
Chaps and Club Monaco, constitute one of the world's most widely
recognized families of consumer brands. For more information, go to http://investor.ralphlauren.com.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release and oral statements made from time to time by
representatives of the Company contain certain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements
regarding, among other things, our current expectations about the
Company's future results and financial condition, revenues, store
openings and closings, employee reductions, margins, expenses and
earnings and are indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate,"
"estimate," "expect," "project," "we believe" and similar words or
phrases. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from the future
results, performance or achievements expressed in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based largely
on the Company's expectations and judgments and are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond
our control. The factors that could cause actual results to materially
differ include, among others: the loss of key personnel, including Mr.
Ralph Lauren, or other changes in our executive and senior management
team or to our operating structure, and our ability to effectively
transfer knowledge during periods of transition; our ability to
successfully implement our Way Forward Plan and long-term growth
strategy, which entails evolving our operating model to enable
sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly reducing supply
chain lead times, employing best-in class sourcing, and capitalizing on
our repositioning initiatives in certain brands, regions, and
merchandise categories; our ability to achieve anticipated operating
enhancements and/or cost reductions from our restructuring plans, which
could include the potential sale, discontinuance, or consolidation of
certain of our brands; the impact to our business resulting from
potential costs and obligations related to the early termination of our
long-term, non-cancellable leases; our efforts to improve the efficiency
of our distribution system and to continue to enhance, upgrade, and/or
transition our global information technology systems and our global
e-commerce platform; our ability to secure our facilities and systems
and those of our third-party service providers from, among other things,
cybersecurity breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, or similar
Internet or email events; our exposure to currency exchange rate
fluctuations from both a transactional and translational perspective;
the impact to our business resulting from increases in the costs of raw
materials, transportation, and labor; our ability to continue to
maintain our brand image and reputation and protect our trademarks; the
impact to our business resulting from the United Kingdom's referendum
vote to exit the European Union and the uncertainty surrounding the
terms and conditions of such a withdrawal, as well as the related impact
to global stock markets and currency exchange rates; the impact of the
volatile state of the global economy, stock markets, and other global
economic conditions on us, our customers, our suppliers, and our vendors
and on our ability and their ability to access sources of liquidity; the
impact to our business resulting from changes in consumers’ ability or
preferences to purchase premium lifestyle products that we offer for
sale and our ability to forecast consumer demand, which could result in
either a build-up or shortage of inventory; changes in the competitive
marketplace, including the introduction of new products or pricing
changes by our competitors, and consolidations, liquidations,
restructurings, and other ownership changes in the retail industry; a
variety of legal, regulatory, tax, political, and economic risks,
including risks related to the importation and exportation of products,
tariffs, and other trade barriers which our international operations are
currently subject to, or may become subject to as a result of potential
changes in legislation, and other risks associated with our
international operations, such as compliance with the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act or violations of other anti-bribery and corruption laws
prohibiting improper payments, and the burdens of complying with a
variety of foreign laws and regulations, including tax laws, trade and
labor restrictions, and related laws that may reduce the flexibility of
our business; the impact to our business of events of unrest and
instability that are currently taking place in certain parts of the
world, as well as from any terrorist action, retaliation, and the threat
of further action or retaliation; our ability to continue to expand or
grow our business internationally and the impact of related changes in
our customer, channel, and geographic sales mix as a result; changes in
our tax obligations and effective tax rates; changes in the business of,
and our relationships with, major department store customers and
licensing partners; our intention to introduce new products or enter
into or renew alliances and exclusive relationships; our ability to
access sources of liquidity to provide for our cash needs, including our
debt obligations, payment of dividends, capital expenditures, and
potential repurchases of our Class A common stock; our ability to open
new retail stores, concession shops, and e-commerce sites in an effort
to expand our direct-to-consumer presence; our ability to make certain
strategic acquisitions and successfully integrate the acquired
businesses into our existing operations; the potential impact to the
trading prices of our securities if our Class A common stock share
repurchase activity and/or cash dividend rate differs from investors'
expectations; our ability to maintain our credit profile and ratings
within the financial community; the potential impact on our operations
and on our suppliers and customers resulting from natural or man-made
disasters; and other risk factors identified in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170202005633/en/
Source: Ralph Lauren Corporation
Ralph Lauren Corporation
Corporate Communications:
Katie
Ioanilli, 212-205-5947
katie.ioanilli@ralphlauren.com
or
Investor
Relations:
Evren Kopelman, 212-813-7862
