In the latest turn of a revolving door of executives, J.Crew has hired Michelle Garvey from Ann Inc. as its new CIO. The struggling fashion retailer is seeking to boost dragging sales and declining profits.
Garvey replaces Marc Saffer, who left the company in March after nearly six years at the helm. The move reunites Garvey with former Ann CFO Michael Nicholson, who joined J.Crew in January as COO and CFO.
The new CIO has her work cut out for her; J.Crew has been slow to respond to new fashion trends and consumer complaints about pricing, fit and quality of its apparel. The retailer has also had to increase discounts at many of its locations, to shed excess inventory as mall foot traffic continues to decline.
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In December 2015, the company posted a Q3 loss of $757.9 million, compared with a loss of $607.8 million for the same period a year earlier, as same-store sales fell 11%.
J.Crew showed signs of life in Q4 when its losses narrowed to $7 million and same-store sales fell only 4%. Its Madewell brand sales increased 26% to $92.5 million during this period. J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler noted in a press statement that the company made “important changes in our product and marketing and through the careful management of expenses and inventory.”
