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John Idol is taking on a familiar role — chief executive officer of Michael Kors.
Idol previously ran Michael Kors through a major growth spurt as the brand transformed from small designer to a publicly traded force in the accessible luxury handbag market.
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Now he’s taking direct control of a business in the midst of a major turnaround, while keeping his day job as chairman and CEO of parent company Capri Holdings, which also owns Versace and Jimmy Choo.
Cedric Wilmotte, who had been CEO of Michael Kors since April 2023, will leave the company after 16 years.
Stepping up in the changeover is Philippa Newman, who was promoted to chief product officer of Michael Kors.
Newman has been with the brand for 14 years, rising to president of accessories and footwear. In her new gig she will report to Idol and work alongside chief creative officer Michael Kors overseeing licensing and design for all product categories.
The C-suite revamp comes as Capri scrambles to set its business right after a long wait on the sidelines.
In August 2023, Capri agreed to an $8.5 billion buyout by Coach-parent Tapestry Inc. that would have created a powerhouse in the accessible luxury handbag space.
Too much of a powerhouse in the opinion of the Federal Trade Commission, which sued to stop the deal and won a preliminary injunction that was enough to nix the transaction.
As the case wound its way through court, the Michael Kors business suffered mightily, with revenues down 15.2 percent to $1.4 billion in the first half.
Earlier this month, Idol laid out plans to rejuvenate the business, acknowledging the brand had “attempted to elevate price points too quickly over the last two years” while “injecting too much fashion for our core consumer.”
Michael Kors is now looking to boost its marketing and rebuild its core, while closing about 75 of its 755 doors over the next two years.
On Tuesday, Idol said in a statement: “We are moving quickly to implement strategic initiatives to stabilize revenues and return to growth. 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 product for our consumers,” Idol said. “I am confident that in her new role as chief product officer for Michael Kors she will successfully lead the execution of our product transformation strategy and drive growth for Michael Kors across all channels.”