Dive Brief:

• New York-based PVH named Alexis Rollier, who has served as Global CFO and Global COO of LMVH-owned cosmetics retailer Sephora since 2018, to be the apparel retailer’s next CFO, according to a Monday company release and securities filing.
• Rollier will take the finance reins for the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger in early September and report to CEO Stefan Larsson. He succeeds Melissa Stone, EVP, global FP&A, who has served as interim CFO since Jan. 1, according to the release.
• The appointment comes after PVH’s previous CFO Zac Coughlin left late last year to take the CFO seat at SiriusXM and as the retailer is continuing to drive its multi-year PVH+ Plan. 

Dive Insight:

Rollier is joining PVH amid mixed results with its long-running turnaround plan, which has sought in part to drive growth across its two flagship brands and improve digital profitability, CFO Dive sister publication Retail Dive reported last month. 

PVH shares were up roughly 2.5% in late afternoon trading Tuesday after the CFO announcement Monday. In a Monday note Needham analysts led by Tom Nikic characterized Rollier’s experience as “strong” and said they viewed the move positively as the lack of a permanent CFO for many months had been an “overhang” on the stock.

“Our only nits to pick are that Sephora is not an apparel business (beauty), and it is a multi-brand retailer rather than a brand,” the client note states. “But we think that for the most part that his experience/skillset is transferable. We continue to believe that PVH’s valuation metrics have been overly punished due to some recent choppiness in fundamentals and hopefully the appointment of Mr. Rollier will be a step in the right direction for the company and the stock.”  

Rollier has worked at Sephora for 14 years and has 30 years of global finance, operations and omni-channel retail experience, according to the release. He has worked in Europe and the Middle East and previously served as CFO at Guerlain, the French luxury cosmetics and perfume company. He began his career at Arthur Andersen.

“Calvin Klein and TOMMY HILFIGER are two of the most iconic brands in the world, with powerful consumer relevance, and I am energized by the opportunity to join the PVH team at this important stage of the company’s journey,” Rollier said in a statement in the release.

In his new role, the 57-year-old Rollier’s compensation will include an initial base salary of $850,000 and a cash advance of $375,000 to replace the bonus and equity awards he will forfeit by resigning from LMVH, as well as one-time sign-on awards of RSUs and PSUs, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In its fiscal first quarter ended May 3, PVH reported net income of $88 million on revenue of $2 billion, compared to a loss of $44.8 million in the year earlier period on nearly $2 billion of revenue, according to the company’s 10-Q filing.