Karen Coe

Executive compensation continues to rise, with notable increases in both pay packages and benefits. Our very own Elaine Hughes, Managing Director of E.A. Hughes, shared her expert insights in @WWD’s latest feature, which explores the findings of their recent study surrounding the top companies within the fashion industry. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/etEi7kau #ExecutiveLeadership #ExecutiveCompensation #ExecutiveSearch #BusinessStrategy

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Random act of kindness In 2016, ahead of the Ghostbusters premiere, Leslie Jones faced a fashion dilemma as no designers offered to dress her for the event. The fashion industry's emphasis on sample sizes and the challenges of creating custom gowns within tight timelines were the primary factors behind this issue. Designers typically focus on standard sample sizes, often lacking the resources to promptly craft custom, larger-sized gowns. Custom dress creation is expensive, leading designers to rationalize the cost by repurposing the dress for various occasions, which may not align with a single celebrity event's needs. Moreover, designers tend to create dresses based on specific requirements rather than maintaining extensive inventories of dresses in all sizes. Leslie Jones's public frustration on Twitter triggered widespread public outcry, highlighting the fashion industry's neglect of women beyond standard sample sizes. A positive shift occurred when designer Christian Siriano stepped in. In response to Jones's tweet, he offered to design a dress for her, addressing the size inclusivity issue in the fashion domain. This gesture not only resolved Jones's predicament but also sparked a crucial conversation within the industry. Christian Siriano's intervention and Leslie Jones's experience brought attention to the importance of greater size inclusivity in fashion. The incident exposed the gap between industry size norms and the diverse body types of most women, urging the fashion world to more accurately represent "real women." This event mirrors Beyoncé's past challenges, where she faced rejections from high-end labels due to her and Destiny's Child's "country curvy" physique, highlighting the ongoing necessity for inclusivity and acceptance of diverse body shapes in fashion. #FashionIndustry #SizeInclusivity #DiversityInFashion

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The 2024 merger of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus Group was meant to provide scale and synergies by combining the forces of America’s three biggest luxury department store names. In a court filing Tuesday, Saks Global Chief Restructuring Officer Mark Weinsten acknowledged what several observers have noted for months, that the tie-up also came with an immediate problem: 40% of Saks and Neiman locations are quite close to each other, sometimes anchoring the same malls. “Given the breadth of luxury retail chains that make up the Global Debtors’ brand portfolio, their stores face competition not only from other luxury retailers and e-commerce experiences, but also, in certain markets, from one another,” he said. “Given this landscape, the Global Debtors and their advisors have critically assessed the financial and operational performance of their retail locations to identify the strongest stores within their portfolio.”

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Solomon Page/E.A. Hughes: Retail leadership requires a deep understanding of the brand’s core values, and our own Elaine Hughes, Managing Director of E.A. Hughes, shared her insights on the leadership challenges facing Kohl’s and the path forward in a recent WWD article: “The next leader of Kohl’s should be a proven executive with leadership skills to understand the issues at hand and listen to the team that has experienced the journey,” Hughes said. “It is critical that this executive have the leadership skills that encompass the ability to study the issues that have affected Kohl’s and listens to the team within the organization that has experienced the journey, without the hubris to assume knowing the answers immediately.”   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/er-JxcEx   #RetailLeadership #BrandIdentity #ExecutiveSearch #BusinessStrategy

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PYMNTS: Saks Global CEO to Exit Company as Bankruptcy Filing Nears: Saks Global is reportedly set to make its second leadership transition in two weeks. CEO Richard Baker, whose appointment to that role was announced on Jan. 2, has been preparing to exit the company over the past few days, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Jan. 13), citing unnamed sources. Baker is making that move as Saks […] The post Saks Global CEO to Exit Company as Bankruptcy Filing Nears appeared first on PYMNTS.com. http://dlvr.it/TQKnYH #payments #fintech

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PYMNTS: Saks Global CEO to Exit Company as Bankruptcy Filing Nears: Saks Global is reportedly set to make its second leadership transition in two weeks. CEO Richard Baker, whose appointment to that role was announced on Jan. 2, has been preparing to exit the company over the past few days, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Jan. 13), citing unnamed sources. Baker is making that move as Saks […] The post Saks Global CEO to Exit Company as Bankruptcy Filing Nears appeared first on PYMNTS.com. http://dlvr.it/TQKnYr #payments #fintech

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The news of Saks Global's bankruptcy filing is a wake-up call for the retail industry. Just over a year ago, they acquired Neiman Marcus in a deal worth approximately $2.7 billion, hoping to create a new luxury department store giant. However, the debt burden from the highly leveraged acquisition quickly plunged the company into a liquidity crisis. ([NJBIZ][1]) For me, this has three lessons: 1️⃣ Scale does not equal competitiveness. Mergers and acquisitions can expand size, but if the profit model doesn't improve, the risks are actually greater. 2️⃣ Cash flow is always more important than the story. ven luxury retail brands cannot ignore cash flow and supply chain stability. 3️⃣ The retail industry is being reshaped. Online competition, direct-sales branding, and changing consumer preferences are all challenging the traditional department store model. Often, the strategy itself is not wrong. The problem lies in the timing, structure, and execution. [1]: https://lnkd.in/g6z99hge "Luxury retailer Saks files Chapter 11"

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