Publicly traded American Eagle Outfitters CEO Robert Hanson is leaving the company and will be replaced on an interim basis by executive chairman Jay Schottenstein, a member of the controlling family,
Bloomberg reported.
“Roger Markfield will postpone his retirement and continue to serve as vice chairman and executive creative director,” the Bloomberg article said.
Sales at stores open at least a year and online fell 7% in the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, the report noted. The company’s stock dropped 30% last year, compared with a 30% gain for the S&P 500 Index, the article said.
Analyst Simeon Siegel told Bloomberg that changing the CEO now “is a very surprising move.” Another analyst, Howard Tubin of RBC Capital Markets,
told the
Los Angeles Times
that Hanson “had been implementing meaningful and positive changes to the business.”
The
LA Times
article noted, “The company did not specify why Hanson, who came on board in January 2012, was departing.” (Sources: Bloomberg, Jan. 23, 2014;
Los Angeles Times,
Jan. 23, 2014.)
-
951 reads