Lands’ End, Inc. named Federica Marchionni as chief executive officer. Marchionni comes to Lands’ End from her role as president of Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc. She will succeed Edgar Huber, who is resigning from the company.
Josephine Linden, chairman of the board of Lands’ End, said: “We are delighted that Federica Marchionni is joining Lands’ End. She is a multi-talented, visionary business leader with a complete set of creative, strategic and analytical skills to grow a multi-channel apparel brand in a highly competitive and evolving global environment.
She has proven product development, retail and international experience, a tremendous passion for success, and a deep network of relationships across the fashion, consumer and retail landscapes. She also fully embraces the principles of quality, value and service on which Gary Comer founded Lands’ End in 1963. We are confident she will build upon the Company’s legacy as a classic American brand with a keen eye toward its future as a global lifestyle brand.”
Linden continued: “On behalf of the entire Board and Lands’ End organization, we truly appreciate Edgar Huber’s steady leadership prior to and during the spin-off from Sears Holdings Corporation. With annual sales in excess of $1.5 billion, roots more than 50 years deep and a great team behind it, Lands’ End is ready for a new leader to accelerate the realization of the full potential of the brand and drive profitable growth.”
Huber said: “With the successful completion of the spin-off of Lands’ End from Sears Holdings Corporation, I have accomplished what I came to achieve at Lands’ End and I look forward to the Company’s success in the future.”
Marchionni said: “I have long admired Lands’ End’s powerful platform and I am excited to lead this iconic company. I have great respect and appreciation for what the Lands’ End team has accomplished to date, and I look forward to leveraging Lands’ End’s strong foundation to expand the brand into new markets and channels over time while remaining true to the brand’s core values and customer base. I join the Lands’ End family with the clear goal of moving the Company forward by working with the Board to identify and pursue growth in key areas, collaborating with and inspiring our people to find new ways to delight customers, and delivering improved financial performance for our shareholders. I cannot wait to get started to take advantage of the significant opportunities ahead.”
Under Marchionni’s leadership as President starting in 2011, Dolce & Gabbana USA’s revenues increased significantly. She successfully elevated the positioning of the brand and redesigned strategies for expanding it across multiple channels, target customers and geographic areas. While growing the existing business, Marchionni oversaw the opening of several key stores including the 5th Avenue flagship store in New York City as well as stores in other markets including Toronto, Chicago, Aspen and Boston and also strengthened the brand’s partnership with major U.S. department stores.
Working closely with the product development teams, sell-through was also advanced in each category and channel, including online. Prior to that, over the course of a career as a global group director at Dolce & Gabbana that stretches back to 2001, she led business development for business units in more than 100 countries. Marchionni was also Senior Vice President at Ferrari where she acted as the chief executive of a division that generated an important portion of the company’s worldwide sales.
Earlier in her career, Marchionni held positions of increasing responsibility in product marketing and sales at industry-leading consumer technology and telecommunications companies such as Samsung, Phillips, and Ericsson. She graduated summa cum laude from La Sapienza University of Rome with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Marchionni will assume the CEO position at Lands’ End and join the Company’s Board of Directors on February 17, 2015, following the completion of her professional commitments to Dolce & Gabbana. Huber will remain as CEO to assist in the transition process until Marchionni joins the company.
