Kenneth Cole Productions Inc.'s fourth-quarter loss narrowed but the company announced that its CEO Jill Granoff is leaving the company. The company said the decision for Granoff to leave was mutual. Paul Blum, who was with the company for 15 years, including four as
president, was returning to take the new position of vice chairman,
while Kenneth Cole was stepping in as interim chief executive.
The loss of $2.7 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of
$52 million, or $2.88 a share. The latest and prior-year results
included $6.3 million and $19.3 million in charges, respectively.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast a 31-cent
profit.
Granoff joined Kenneth Cole in mid-2008 after being executive vice president of direct brands at Liz Claiborne Inc..
Revenue jumped 10% to $120.8 million.
Gross margin narrowed to 43.5% from 46.8% due to liquidation efforts, including an increase in off-price selling.
