Fashion opts for industry pros as it looks beyond the pandemic

The Fashion's Newest CEOs report released today highlights the conservative choices businesses have made when changing leadership in 2021. Furthermore, appointments have been predominantly male with operational experience, as opposed to design or marketing.

With restrictions still in place at the start of 2021, and supply chain disruptions felt throughout, it seems fashion businesses have chosen experienced executives that can have an immediate impact as they steady the business and reset foundations.

Over 90% of incoming CEOs had fashion sector experience and almost 75% had C-Suite experience. Of the reasons given for hiring a particular candidate, the most cited option was to deliver digital transformation and growth.

Says Joaquín Villalba, CEO of Nextail which produces the report: "Incoming CEOs with a depth of industry knowledge and experience can sort the basics out quickly before moving on to the rest of the business. With omnichannel, the new normal, and a pressing need to improve systems to reduce waste, companies need to bring the digital into the heart of their operations."

Luxury was particularly active in bringing in new CEOs, with an 80% YoY growth in appointments. Most notable are the replacements of two of the most long-serving leaders - Andrea Panconesi at LuisaViaRoma and Alain Wertheimer at Chanel. Driving the pick-up in appointments is the luxury sector's embracing of the digital sphere as it targets a new customer base and a need to have leaders who understand what is required.

The slow-down in female appointments is regrettable, though likely to be a pause rather than a reversal as businesses move out of their conservative phase and look for innovation and a new dynamism.

About Nextail
Nextail is a platform of end-to-end inventory management solutions that delivers customer-centric, data-driven decisions so that brands and retailers can sell more with less stock. By leveraging AI, Nextail increases stock efficiency across all channels through hyper-local demand forecasting and process automation. Nextail is currently working with over 30 international brands and retails including Versace, River Island, and Pepe Jeans.
www.nextail.co

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