As part of its reorganisation plans and cost reduction initiatives, Capri Holdings announced the departure of Michael Kors CEO Cedric Wilmotte. John D. Idol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company, who will now assume leadership of the brand, thanked him for “his significant contributions over the last 16 years” and wished him “all the best in his future endeavours”.

The company also announced the promotion of Philippa Newman to Chief Product Officer of Michael Kors, effective from the 2^nd of December. She has been with the luxury brand for 14 years, most recently serving as President of Accessories and Footwear. Reporting to John D. Idol, she will oversee merchandising, production, licensing and design across all product categories, in partnership with Chief Creative Officer Michael Kors.

“Michael Kors has strong brand equity and tremendous potential. I am confident that by consolidating design, merchandising, production, and licensing under a unified team we can more effectively execute our strategies, including delivering more targeted products to different consumer cohorts, in order to return Michael Kors to growth”, she said.

Capri Holdings’ flagship luxury fashion brand has struggled for some time. Most recently, its second quarter revenue fell by 16.0% on a reported basis and by 15.9% on a constant currency basis to 738 million US dollars, as compared to the same period of last fiscal year. “As I stated on our recent investor call, we are moving quickly to implement strategic initiatives to stabilize revenues and return to growth”, guaranteed John D. Idol.

“This reorganization reinforces Michael Kors’ plans to engage and energize both new and loyal consumers, create exciting fashion and core products with compelling value, improve store productivity and return our wholesale business to growth. Philippa is a dynamic leader with an exceptional breadth of experience developing compelling products for our consumers”, he concluded.

This shake-up also comes at an uncertain time for Capri, after its proposed 8.5 billion US dollar merger with Tapestry, owner of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, was called off.  According to Vogue Business, Capri is looking to get Michael Kors back on track, and Newman’s role will be crucial to a potential turnaround, as the brand's products have stagnated and what once worked no longer appeals to the younger generation. Meanwhile, experts are wondering if Versace and/or Jimmy Choo could be sold, or if Capri will be taken private to manage the post-merger transition.